2025 (2) TMI 1155 - HC - GST

MIsuse of petitioner s credentials on the Goods and Services Tax portal leading to allegations of passing fraudulent Input Tax Credit without actual supply of goods - HELD THAT - Similar issue decided in Aakash Gupta vs. Commissioner of Delhi Goods and Services Tax Ors 2024 (12) TMI 1535 - DELHI HIGH COURT where it was held that the question of whether the credentials of the petitioner were misused and is a case of identity theft clearly gives rise to disputed questions of fact and would be liable to be duly inquired into by the competent authorities and which investigation cannot be undertaken by this Court. Petition disposed off.

Summary

ISSUES PRESENTED and CONSIDERED:

- Whether the petitioner's credentials were misused on the Goods and Services Tax portal, leading to allegations of passing fraudulent Input Tax Credit without actual supply of goods.

- Whether the challenge raised by the petitioner is based on factual issues that need to be further investigated.

ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS:

Issue 1: Misuse of Petitioner's Credentials

- The Court noted the allegations in the Show Cause Notice regarding the shared user id between the petitioner and another individual, leading to the migration of a business from VAT to GST.

- The petitioner failed to justify his lack of knowledge about the migration and the receipt of authentication OTPs from the VAT department.

- The allegations included the generation of fake input tax credit to defraud the Government, leading to penalization under the CGST Act.

- The Court referenced a similar case involving a co-noticee where the challenge was disposed of due to disputed factual questions regarding identity theft.

Significant Holdings:

- The Court disposed of the writ petition on similar terms as the previous case, allowing the petitioner to provide material supporting his allegations for further consideration by the authorities.