Dept. Can’t Raise Demand of Interest on Delayed Furnishing of Return Without Initiating Any Adjudication Proceedings | HC

Case Details: East India Udyog Ltd. v. State of Jharkhand - [2024] 162 taxmann.com 106 (Jharkhand)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Shree Chandrashekhar, ACJ. and Navneet Kumar, J.
  • Ms Amrita Sinha & Rohit Ranjan Singh, Advs. for the Petitioner.
  • Ashok Kr. Yadav, Anish Kr. Mishra & Ms Surabhi for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner was engaged in business of manufacturing various types of power distribution transformers, conductors and cables. There was some delay in filing of return for period from June 2018 to March 2019 and the department issued notice for the payment of interest on account of delayed filing of the return. The petitioner received a notice and a demand of interest was made without any adjudication. It filed writ petition against the demand of interest and contended that the recovery proceeding under section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017 could not be initiated without a final adjudication.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that as per Section 73, the proper officer shall issue the notice at least three months prior to the time-limit specified for issuance of order. In the instant case, there was no adjudication before a demand for the payment of interest was raised because of the delayed filing of the returns. Therefore, it was held that without initiating any adjudication proceedings under section 73 or 74 of the CGST Act 2017, where liability had been disputed, the department could not raise a demand for payment of interest on delayed furnishing of return. The Court also noted that the time for filing of return was extended by the Government. Thus, the impugned orders were liable to be set aside.