Barhonia Engicon Private Limited Vs State of Bihar (Patna High Court)
Patna HC Dismisses Petitions Challenging Validity of GST Orders/Notices on Limitation Grounds
In a recent judgment, the Patna High Court dismissed a batch of writ petitions challenging the validity of Goods and Services Tax (GST) orders and notices issued for the assessment years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20. The petitioners contested the extension of limitation periods granted under the GST Act due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They argued that the notifications which extended these deadlines were issued after the pandemic had subsided, and therefore, the extension was not justified.
The Core Issue
The crux of the dispute revolved around the due date for filing annual returns as set under Section 44 of the GST Act, which typically falls on 31st December of the following financial year. However, due to the pandemic, the Supreme Court had suspended limitation periods for judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings between 15th March 2020 and 28th February 2022, effectively extending various filing and assessment deadlines.
The petitioners in this case challenged the application of these extended deadlines for the issuance of assessment orders under Section 73(10) of the GST Act. They contended that the extensions granted by the government were no longer relevant, as the pandemic situation had eased by the time the notifications were issued.
