Clean Switch India Pvt. Ltd. Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
The case revolves around an order dated 18.03.2024, which imposed tax and a 300% penalty on Clean Switch India Pvt. Ltd. for the delayed filing of returns, resulting in the reversal of Input Tax Credit (ITC). The order also pertains to the assessment year 2016-2017, with the initial assessment order issued on 03.09.2019. The petitioner, Clean Switch India Pvt. Ltd., neither appealed the assessment order nor filed a petition against it. However, on 06.02.2023, the petitioner submitted a rectification application, which was rejected by an order dated 17.08.2023. Consequently, the petitioner challenged this rejection by filing W.P. No. 35621 of 2023, leading to the remanding of the matter for reconsideration due to the non-speaking nature of the order.
Petitioner’s Argument
The petitioner’s counsel contended that the respondent accepted the rectification request regarding the wrong claim of ITC amounting to Rs. 40,15,403. However, regarding the delayed filing of returns and the subsequent reversal of ITC, the petitioner claimed that they had requested copies of the returns, notably by a letter dated 08.08.2019. Despite this request, the tax proposal was confirmed without providing the returns, and a 300% penalty was imposed. The petitioner argued that such a penalty, invoked under sub-section (4) of Section 27 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 (TNVAT Act), was unjustified for merely delayed filing of returns. The petitioner supported this argument with a Division Bench judgment from the same court and cited other relevant case law regarding the scope of Section 84 of the TNVAT Act.
