2019 (7) TMI 37 - HC - GST

Belated filing of Excise returns - Section 73 of CGST Act - whether communication letter to be treated as SCN - HELD THAT - In the considered view of this Court, it is imperative that the aforesaid paragraph-3 of the impugned communication is kept in abeyance till the aforesaid 'SCN' attains finality as implementation of paragraph-3 will render the entire exercise post SCN infructuous - Petition disposed off.

Summary

Issues: Delay in filing Returns under CGST Act, Impugned communication, Show Cause Notice

Delay in filing Returns under CGST Act:
The writ petitioner, a Registered Dealer under the CGST Act, faced a delay in filing ER-1 Returns for June 2017, which were belatedly submitted on 29.12.2018. The petitioner claimed to have remitted a penalty of ?20,000 for the delay. The court refrained from expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.

Impugned communication:
The impugned communication in question was a letter dated 21.12.2018 from the respondent to the petitioner, requesting the reversal of a wrongly credited amount of ?26,60,637 along with interest and compliance report submission. The Revenue Counsel stated that this communication was advisory in nature due to recent implementation of GST laws and mentioned the issuance of a Show Cause Notice (SCN) under Section 73 of the CGST Act for further proceedings.

Show Cause Notice:
The Revenue Counsel assured the court that a formal SCN would be issued within four weeks from the date of the court order. The court directed that the implementation of paragraph-3 of the impugned communication, requesting the reversal of the credited amount, be kept on hold until the SCN process is completed to avoid rendering subsequent actions futile. Consequently, the court disposed of the writ petition with no costs awarded, and closed the related miscellaneous petitions.