Mali Tractors Private Limited vs. The Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court held that the Appellate Authority erred in dismissing the petitioner's appeal for the 2017-18 assessment year based solely on the assessment order's date. Following the reasoning of a Division Bench judgment (Annexure-P/23), the Court found no rationale for the 31.03.2023 cut-off date in Notification No. 53/2023. The Court reasoned that if an order was passed within three months prior to the notification's issuance date (02.11.2023), it should be considered for beneficial treatment. Therefore, the Court set aside the appellate order for 2017-18 and directed the Appellate Authority to resume the appeal and dispose of it on its merits. The same reasoning was applied to the 2018-19 assessment year, setting aside the appellate order and remanding the appeal for disposal on merits. The petitioner is directed to appear before the Appellate Authority on 06.01.2025.

Facts

The petitioner, Mali Tractors Private Limited, is challenging assessment orders for the years 2017-18 and 2018-19. For the 2017-18 assessment year, the petitioner initially faced scrutiny under Section 60(1) of the Central/Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, due to discrepancies in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns, attributed to double entries of invoices at the commencement of the GST regime. These proceedings were closed. Subsequently, a notice under Section 73(1) was dropped, and an audit reply was accepted. However, a further notice led to an assessment order dated 23.06.2023. The petitioner did not appeal this order within the stipulated four months. A subsequent notification allowed appeals for orders passed before 31.03.2023, with a condition of paying admitted tax plus 12.5% of the demand. The petitioner filed an appeal on 20.01.2024, complying with the conditions, but it was dismissed as the assessment order was dated after 31.03.2023. Similar facts apply to the 2018-19 assessment year.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Appellate Authority erred in dismissing the petitioner's appeal for the 2017-18 assessment year solely on the ground that the assessment order dated 23.06.2023 was passed after the cut-off date of 31.03.2023, despite the petitioner complying with the conditions stipulated in Notification No. 53/2023, Central Tax, and following the reasoning in a previous Division Bench judgment (Annexure-P/23)? Petitioner's argument: The petitioner contended that the cut-off date of 31.03.2023 in Notification No. 53/2023 is arbitrary and that the Division Bench in Annexure-P/23 had allowed appeals for orders passed after 31.03.2023, finding no rationale for such a cut-off. They argued that their appeal should be considered on merits. Revenue's argument: The judgment does not record specific arguments from the revenue or state regarding this issue. The dismissal of the appeal by the Appellate Authority was based on the date of the assessment order.