No Demand Can Be Raised if Assessee Filed GST Return in Another State Due to Technical Glitch in Home State | HC

Case Details: Standard Chartered Bank v. Principal Commissioner of Central Tax - [2024] 164 taxmann.com 506 (Telangana)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Sujoy Paul & Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao, JJ.
• Lakshmi Kumaran Sridharan for the Petitioner.
• B. Narayan Reddy, Sr. Counsel & Uday Kumar Bhagwath for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner is a bank and its headquarter is in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Due to a technical glitch, the bank could not file its return in GST portal of Maharashtra and filed it in GST portal of Telangana. The department issued show cause notice and the petitioner replied that it faced problem in filing return electronically due to technical glitch in the GST portal of Maharashtra. However, the department passed order confirming demand. It filed writ petition against the demand order.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the department issued show cause notice wherein it was admitted that there was a technical glitch and petitioner faced problem in filing return electronically and for said reason, it filed the return in Telangana GST portal. The Court also noted that the petitioner did not gain any undue benefit and revenue did not suffer any loss from said action.

Moreover, the Court also noted that it is revenue’s responsibility to ensure their portal is functional, and they cannot penalize petitioner for using an alternative portal due to these technical issues. Therefore, it was held that the impugned order was to be set aside.

List of Cases Reviewed

• Devendra Kumar v. State of Uttaranchal 2013 (9) SCC 363 (Para 27) followed.