Scals Enterprises Vs Commercial Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
Scope of Rectification under Section 161 of the CGST Act is Confined to Errors Apparent on the Face of Record: Madras High Court
Summary: The Madras High Court considered a writ petition filed by Scals Enterprises challenging an order dated 05.02.2026, insofar as it concerned the under declaration of ineligible Input Tax Credit (ITC) for the tax period April 2018 to March 2019. The petitioner submitted that its rectification application had been allowed in relation to alleged invalid ITC under Section 16(4), after noticing that returns had been filed within the time limit specified in Section 16(5) of the applicable GST statutes. However, with regard to the under declaration of ineligible ITC, the petitioner stated that the request for rectification had been rejected solely because supporting documents had not been submitted. The Court examined the impugned rectification order and noted that the State Tax Officer had concluded that the original order concerning the under declaration of ineligible ITC did not contain any error apparent and amenable to rectification. The officer had also recorded that supporting documents had not been filed. The High Court observed that the scope of Section 161 of the applicable GST enactments is confined to rectification of patent errors. On examining the impugned order, the Court found no infirmity in the rejection of the rectification application concerning the under declaration of ineligible ITC. Accordingly, the writ petition was disposed of without costs, while leaving it open to the petitioner to assail the original order concerning this issue in accordance with law. The connected miscellaneous petitions were consequently closed. The Court therefore did not itself adjudicate the underlying entitlement to the disputed ineligible ITC; the petitioner was left to pursue an appropriate challenge to the original order.
