M/s Bridge Hygiene Services Private Limited Vs The State Tax Officer (Kerala High Court)
The statutory prescription of 30 days from the date of receipt of the assessment order passed under sub section (1) of Section 62 has to be strictly construed against an assessee and in favour of the revenue, since this is a provision in a taxing statute that enables an assessee to get an order passed against him on best judgement basis set aside. The provision must be interpreted in the same manner as an exemption provision in a taxing statute.
This Court may not be justified in granting an extension of the period contemplated under sub section (2) of Section 62, so as to enable the assessee to file a return beyond the said period for the purposes of getting the benefit of withdrawal of an assessment order passed on best judgement basis under Section 62(1) of the GST Act. Under such circumstances I find that the prayer sought for in the writ petition cannot be granted. The writ petition therefore fails, and is accordingly dismissed.
Best Judgement Assessment under GST – Time period cannot be extended
Facts: Petitioner defaulted in filing of returns from July 2018 onwards. The case of the petitioner is that although there is a provision under the Act for an automatic setting aside of the best judgment assessment in circumstances where the registered dealer furnishes a valid return within 30 days of service of the assessment order, the petitioner sees this provision as futile in his case inasmuch as even if the petitioner were to file the returns within the extended time of 30 days from the date of receipt of the best judgment assessment orders, he would not be in a position to pay the admitted tax liability as reflected from the returns.
