Standard Chartered Bank Vs Principal Commissioner of Central Tax & others (Telangana High Court)
Telangana High Court held that imposition of penalty unwarranted as due to technical glitch return couldn’t be filed in GST portal of Maharashtra and the same was filed via GST portal of Telanagana (branch) and importantly the credit got transferred on same day to Maharashtra portal.
Facts- This petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution contains an interesting conundrum whether the petitioner Bank which is Registered under Sales Tax and GST regime in Maharashtra, but could not file its return in GST portal of that State because of technical glitch and filed it in the GST portal of Telangana can be saddled with demand, penalty and interest despite the fact that Bank’s branch, exists in the State of Telangana. Moreso, when credit taken by petitioner was transferred to Maharashtra portal on the same day.
Conclusion- When the return is filed in the Telangana Portal and credit got transferred on the same day to Maharashtra portal, the department has no justifiable reason to deny the same or take action against the petitioner. By no stretch of imagination, the petitioner can be saddled to deposit the same amount with penalty and interest.
