SC dismissed SLP against HC order to not levy interest on delayed tax payment due to technical glitch on GST Portal
- News|Blog|GST & Customs|
- 2 Min Read
- By Taxmann
- |
- Last Updated on 13 August, 2021
Case details: Union of India v. Vishnu Aroma Pouching (P.) Ltd. - [2021] 129 taxmann.com 17 (SC)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
-
- Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Krishna Murari, JJ.
- N. Venkataraman, Ld. ASG, S.K. Singhania, V.V.V. Patabhai Ram, Akshay Amirtanshu, Prupesh Kumar, Advs. and Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR for the Petitioner.
- Mukul Rohatgi, Sr. Adv., Nalin Talwar, Sameer Abhyankar, AOR, Amish Tandon, Ayush Beotra, Dipin Tamang and Uddhav Khanna, Advs. for the Respondent.
Facts of the Case
The petitioner discharged its total tax liability, partly by paying tax in cash and partly by paying tax through legally availed Input Tax Credit (ITC) while filing return for the period August, 2017. Thereafter, petitioner proposed to furnish GSTR-3B which system accepted, however, though payment of tax liability had been fully made by petitioner, due to system crash, information and details in all columns of this return were shown as zero. The, petitioner immediately informed GST Authorities, however, authorities maintained silence for a considerable period of time and did not provide remedial measures.
However, the liability was declared in GSTR 3B return filed for September 2019 but the petitioner received notice from department that they were liable to make payment of interest for the period between actual date of filing of return and date of filing of return of September, 2019. The petitioner submitted that he had discharged his tax liability by depositing requisite funds in Cash ledger within time, however, it was because of technical glitch same could not be credited to Government account, and therefore he would not be liable for interest. The High Court held that petitioner having duly discharged tax liability of August, 2017 within period prescribed and declaration was submitted by petitioner along with return of September, 2019 shall be treated as petitioner having discharged its tax liability of August, 2017 within period stipulated under GST laws and petitioner shall not be liable to pay any interest on such tax amount.
The department filed Special Leave Petition against the order. The Honorable Apex Court observed that decision of High Court was passed on November 14, 2019 and the proposal for filing the Special Leave Petition was sent after almost six months on May 20, 2020 and it took another three months to decide whether to file Special Leave Petition or not on August 25, 2020. Such kind of lethargy on part of the revenue department with so much computerization having been achieved is no more acceptable. Therefore, this petition was to be dismissed as time barred.
Case Review
-
- Vishnu Aroma Pouching (P.) Ltd. v. UOI [2021] 129 taxmann.com 16 (para 6) SLP dismissed. [See Annex]
List of Cases Referred to
-
- State of Madhya Pradesh v. Bheru Lal [SLP(C). Diary No. 9217 of 2020, dated 15-10-2020] (para 3)
- State ofOdisha v. Sunanda Mahakuda [SLP (Civil). Diary No. 22605 of 2020, dated 11-12021] (para 3)
- Office of theChief Post Master General v.Living Media India Ltd. [2012] 20 taxmann.com 347/207 Taxman 163/348 ITR 7 (SC) (para 3).
Disclaimer: The content/information published on the website is only for general information of the user and shall not be construed as legal advice. While the Taxmann has exercised reasonable efforts to ensure the veracity of information/content published, Taxmann shall be under no liability in any manner whatsoever for incorrect information, if any.
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