MRF Ltd Vs Additional Director (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court held that issuance of show cause notice under section 74 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 impermissible since tax already paid voluntarily and there was no tax liability to be paid at the time of issuance of show cause notice. Accordingly, notice quashed.
Facts- The petitioner is a limited company, incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, and it is a listed company in India as well as abroad. The impugned show cause notice was issued by the 1st respondent against the petitioner with regard to the wrongful availment of ITC and for calling upon the petitioner to payback a sum of Rs.78 Crores. The issuance of said notice, had caused adverse impact on the stock values of the petitioner-Company. These writ petitions have been filed against the impugned show cause notice dated 07.04.2022 issued by the 1st respondent.
Conclusion- It is clear that the petitioner’s inclination to make the payment of tax dues was communicated to the respondents as early as on 07.01.2019, which is much prior to the date of DGGI investigation. When such being the case, as stated above, no criminal motive, viz., fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of material facts, can be attributed against the petitioner, since the petitioner had voluntarily disclosed the short payment
