Supreme Infotrade Private Limited & anr. Vs Assistant Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court has ordered the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax to immediately refund an amount of Rs. 18,04,696 to Supreme Infotrade Private Limited. The court’s decision, issued on an unspecified date, addresses a procedural and statutory violation where the tax authority recovered the entire disputed amount before the taxpayer could even file a statutory appeal. The ruling underscores the critical importance of adhering to legal provisions regarding tax recovery and pre-deposits during the appellate process.
The case emerged from a tax demand issued under Section 73 of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, for the tax period spanning from July 2017 to March 2018. The order, which determined the full tax demand, was passed on June 14, 2023. The law provides taxpayers a statutory period to file an appeal under Section 107 of the Act, and in this case, that period was set to expire on August 3, 2023. However, before the deadline for appeal had passed, the tax department debited the entire demanded amount from the petitioner’s electronic credit ledger on the same day the appeal period was set to expire.
Supreme Infotrade subsequently filed a statutory appeal from the order. As the entire demanded amount had already been recovered, the tax authority treated the recovered sum as the pre-deposit required for the appeal. On August 29, 2024, the appellate authority disposed of the appeal by modifying the original order and reducing the tax demand.
