M/S Iti LTD vs. The Union Of INDIA And 6 Ors.

Held

The Court held that the petitioner should avail the special procedure for rectification of order as notified by the Central Government on 08.10.2024. The reasoning was based on the development presented by the respondents and concurred with by the petitioner's counsel. The Court directed the petitioner to file the application for rectification before the competent authority within two weeks. It was expected that the respondents would process and dispose of the matter expeditiously thereafter. The Court also granted interim protection, stating that no coercive action would be taken against the petitioner until the rectification application is disposed of. The prayer for manual acceptance of the application was also allowed. The matter was closed and disposed of with these directions.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s ITI Ltd., filed a writ petition before the High Court of Meghalaya challenging a demand for excess availed Input Tax Credit (ITC) for the period of November 2017-2018, initiated under Section 73 of the CGST Act and MGST Act. The respondents, including the Union of India and various GST authorities, presented a Notification dated 08.10.2024. This notification introduced a special procedure for rectification of orders concerning wrong availment of ITC, particularly where such ITC is now available under amended provisions of Section 16(5) and 16(6) of the Act, and no appeal has been filed against the original order. The petitioner agreed to avail this special procedure.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner can avail the special procedure for rectification of order notified on 08.10.2024, in light of the demand for excess availed Input Tax Credit for November 2017-2018 under Section 73 of the CGST Act and MGST Act? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner, through its counsel, agreed to avail the special procedure for rectification of order as provided by the Notification dated 08.10.2024, indicating their acceptance of this path to resolve the dispute. They also prayed for manual acceptance of the rectification application due to potential portal issues. Revenue's Argument: The respondents, through Dr. N. Mozika, learned DSGI, submitted the Notification dated 08.10.2024, asserting that it provides a mechanism to close the matter by allowing the petitioner to take recourse to the special rectification procedure, especially in view of amendments to Section 16(5) and 16(6) of the Act.