Goutam Engineering Concern Vs West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court held that GST was not payable on services rendered and completed before the introduction of the GST regime merely because post-facto approval was granted and bills were raised after 1 July 2017. Goutam Engineering Concern had deployed technical personnel for repair and maintenance of feeder lines of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) during 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. Post-facto approval for the work was granted on 26 February 2018 and the petitioner submitted twelve monthly bills on 22 February 2019. WBSEDCL withheld payment on the ground that GST formalities had not been complied with. The Court examined the time-of-supply provisions under Section 13 and the transitional provision contained in Section 142(11)(b) of the GST Act. It held that the services stood rendered and completed in 2015, much before the appointed day of 1 July 2017.
Neither the post-facto approval dated 26 February 2018 nor the subsequent raising of bills could alter the actual date of supply and bring the completed services within the GST regime. The liability was therefore governed by the erstwhile Service Tax regime. The Court directed respondent no. 3 to pay Rs. 19,91,148 with interest at 8% per annum from 22 February 2019 until actual payment, after deduction of tax, if any, applicable under the pre-GST regime, within four weeks.
