Judgment
2025:KER:28836 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BECHU KURIAN THOMAS THURSDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF APRIL 2025 / 13TH CHAITHRA, 1947 WP(C) NO. 13818 OF 2025 PETITIONER:
M/S. ADTECH COMPUTER CONSULTANCY VADAKKEDATH BUILDING, MALLAPUZHASSERY, ARANMULA, PATHANAMTHITTA, KERALA, REPRESENTED BY IT’S PROPRIETOR SRI.MANOJ MOHAN, PIN - 689533 BY ADVS.
AJI V.DEV P.G.SATHISH KUMAR ALAN PRIYADARSHI DEV S.SAJEEVAN JASH C JAMES RESPONDENTS:
1 THE SUPERINTENDENT CENTRAL GOODS AND SERVICES TAX AND CENTRAL EXCISE, PATHANAMTHITTA RANGE, THAZHETHEKKATHIL TOWER, ST. PETERS JN., RING ROAD, PATHANAMTHITTA, PIN - 689645 2 UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY (REVENUE), MINISTRY OF FINANCE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI, PIN - 110001 3 THE CENTRAL BOARD OF INDIRECT TAXES & CUSTOMS REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI, PIN - 110001 4 THE STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, TAXES DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN – 695001
2025:KER:28836 W.P.(C). No.13818 of 2025 -:2:- BY ADV. V.GIRISH KUMAR, STANDING COUNSEL OTHER PRESENT:
DR.THUSHARA JAMES, SENIOR GOVERNMENT PLEADER THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 03.04.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
2025:KER:28836 W.P.(C). No.13818 of 2025 -:3:- BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J.
----------------------------------------- W.P.(C). No.13818 of 2025 ------------------------------------------- Dated this the 3rd day of April, 2025 JUDGMENT Petitioner challenges Exhibit-P1 order of determination issued under Section 73(9)of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, (for short, ‘the Act’). During the course of hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that all other demands except the late fee for belated filing of GSTR-9 under Section 47 of the Act have already been paid.
2. Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned Standing Counsel for the respondents, I am of the view that this writ petition can be disposed of in the light of the submission of the learned counsel.
3. Under the Amnesty Scheme, all registered persons who had filed returns between 01.04.2023 and 31.08.2023 were given waiver of late fee in excess of Rs.10,000/-. When Government itself had waived late fee for non-filers, in excess of Rs.10,000/- as per two notifications bearing Nos. 7/2023 dated 31.03.2023 and No.25/2023 dated 17.07.2023, there is no justification in continuing with the notices or demands for non-payment of late fee for those who had belatedly filed their returns but before 01.04.2023, which is the date on which the
2025:KER:28836 W.P.(C). No.13818 of 2025 -:4:- Amnesty Scheme commenced.
4. In the instant case, petitioner had filed the return on 08.06.2022, and therefore, the observations in the judgments in W.P.(C).No.30644 of 2023 and W.P.(C). No.42745 of 2024 are applicable to the petitioner.
5. In the result, Exhibit-P1 demand to the extent it imposes a late fee of Rs.1,04,800/- excluding Rs.10,000/- for belated filing of return in GSTR- 9 for the financial year 2018-19 is hereby quashed.
Since the remaining demands are stated to have been satisfied by the petitioner, nothing further remains for consideration.
The writ petition is disposed of.
Sd/- BECHU KURIAN THOMAS JUDGE Jka/03.04.25.
2025:KER:28836 W.P.(C). No.13818 of 2025 -:5:- APPENDIX OF WP(C) 13818/2025 PETITIONER’S EXHIBITS Exhibit P1 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER SO PASSED IN ORIGINAL FOR THE YEAR 2018-19 DATED:
17.04.2024 Exhibit P1(a) TRUE COPY OF THE SUMMARY OF ORDER THEREOF ISSUED IN FORM DRC-07 DATED:
26.04.2024 Exhibit P2 TRUE COPY OF THE ANNUAL RETURN SO FILED FOR THE YEAR 2018-19 IN GSTR-09 ON 08.06.2022 Exhibit P3 TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION NO.7/2023- CT DATED 31.03.2023 Exhibit P4 TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION NO.25/2023 – CT DATED 17.07.2023 Exhibit P5 TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN ANISHIA CHANDRAKANTH VS. THE SUPERINTENDENT & ORS DATED: 09.04.2024 Exhibit P6 TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN M/S R. T.
PHARMA VS. UNION OF INDIA & ORS DATED:
21.12.2024 Exhibit P7 TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN M/S. N.J.S.
HERBAL ISOLATES VS. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER & ORS DATED 25.03.2025