Diya Agencies vs. The State Tax Officer
Held
The Court held that ITC cannot be denied merely because the amount is not reflected in GSTR-2A, as GSTR-2A is a facilitator. The assessing authority must independently examine the assessee's claim, requiring the assessee to discharge the burden of proving the genuineness of transactions and remittance of tax to the seller. The assessment order was deemed unsustainable.
Facts
The petitioner challenged an assessment order for AY 2017-18, where input tax credit (ITC) of Rs. 44,51,943.08/- was denied for CGST and SGST. The denial was based solely on the ground that the claimed amount was not reflected in GSTR-2A, despite the petitioner asserting compliance with Section 16(2) conditions.
Key Issues
Whether input tax credit can be denied solely on the basis of non-reflection in GSTR-2A, or if the assessing authority must independently verify the genuineness of the transaction and the assessee's compliance with Section 16(2) conditions.
Sections Cited
Section 16(1), Section 16(2), Section 73
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH TUESDAY, THE 12TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2023 / 21ST BHADRA, 1945 WP(C) NO. 29769 OF 2023 PETITIONER: DIYA AGENCIES, XXI/221A, PULLIKANAKKU P. O., KAYAMKULAM, ALAPPUZHA REPRESENTED BY ITS PROPRIETOR SRI. K. ANIL KUMAR, PIN – 690537. BY ADVS. SRI. AJI V. DEV SRI. H. ABDUL LATHIEF SRI. ALAN PRIYADARSHI DEV SRI. S. SAJEEVAN RESPONDENTS: 1 THE STATE TAX OFFICER, STATE G.S.T DEPARTMENT, MINI CIVIL STATION, KAYAMKULAM - 690 502 (PRESENTLY RE-DESIGNATED AS THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, TAXPAYER SERVICES CIRCLE, STATE G.S.T DEPARTMENT, MINI CIVIL STATION, CHENGANNUR, ALAPPUZHA, PIN– 689121). 2 THE STATE TAX OFFICER, ARREAR RECOVERY, TAXPAYER SERVICES, STATE GST DEPARTMENT, BSNL BUILDING, HEAD POST OFFICE ROAD, ALAPPUZHA, PIN – 688001. 3 UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY (REVENUE), MINISTRY OF FINANCE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI, PIN – 110001. 4 THE CENTRAL BOARD OF INDIRECT TAXES & CUSTOMS, REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI, PIN – 110001. 5 THE STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, TAXES DEPARTMEN
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