Liquidator Can Offset GST Dues with Electronic Cash Ledger Balance – HC

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  • Last Updated on 14 August, 2025

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Case details : Satyadevi Alamuri Liquidator of G.B. Engineering Enterprises (P.) Ltd. vs. Office of Assistant Commissioner of GST and Central Excise - [2025] 177 taxmann.com 236 (Madras)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

  • C.Saravanan, J.
  • M.G. Pranava Charan for the Petitioner
  • R.Gowri Shankar for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner-company went into liquidation and its GST registration was cancelled, with fresh registration obtained thereafter. During the relevant period when the company was under liquidation, payments towards GST liability were made in cash into the Electronic Cash Ledger, but the Liquidator could not upload returns in Form GSTR-01 and Form GSTR-3B as the company had failed to file returns for an earlier period. An order was passed confirming demand of short-paid GST liability, which the petitioner challenged on the ground that such cash payments had not been recognised by the jurisdictional officer under GST. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court of Madras.

HC Held

The High Court of Madras held that the only defect was the inability of the Liquidator to upload the returns in Form GSTR-01 and Form GSTR-3B due to pending earlier returns, while the fact remained that amounts had been transferred into the Electronic Cash Ledger as and when the tax liability arose, in accordance with section 49 of the respective GST enactments. Reference was made to Circular No. 134/04/2020-GST, dated 23-03-2020 , wherein in similar circumstances a liquidator was advised to obtain fresh registration and apply for refund, which was intended merely as a trade facilitation measure. It was held that there could be no impediment to appropriating the amounts already paid in the Electronic Cash Ledger to square off the tax liability, and therefore the impugned order was quashed.

List of Cases Referred to

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Author: Taxmann

Taxmann Publications has a dedicated in-house Research & Editorial Team. This team consists of a team of Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, and Lawyers. This team works under the guidance and supervision of editor-in-chief Mr Rakesh Bhargava.

The Research and Editorial Team is responsible for developing reliable and accurate content for the readers. The team follows the six-sigma approach to achieve the benchmark of zero error in its publications and research platforms. The team ensures that the following publication guidelines are thoroughly followed while developing the content:

  • The statutory material is obtained only from the authorized and reliable sources
  • All the latest developments in the judicial and legislative fields are covered
  • Prepare the analytical write-ups on current, controversial, and important issues to help the readers to understand the concept and its implications
  • Every content published by Taxmann is complete, accurate and lucid
  • All evidence-based statements are supported with proper reference to Section, Circular No., Notification No. or citations
  • The golden rules of grammar, style and consistency are thoroughly followed
  • Font and size that's easy to read and remain consistent across all imprint and digital publications are applied