Kerala High Court Disposes Writ Petition, Directs Timely Decision on Appeal Against Denial of Transitional Credit under GST Act

Case Name:

Satyam Steels v. Assistant Commissioner, Office of the Superintendent of Central Tax and Central Excise, Ernakulam Range-5, and others

Key Takeaways:

1. The writ petition (WP(C) No. 19239 of 2023) filed by Satyam Steels challenging the denial of transitional credit under the GST Act has been disposed of by the High Court of Kerala.
2. The court directed the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) of the CGST, Kochi to promptly decide the appeal filed by the petitioner against the impugned order.
3. The petitioner had already availed the statutory remedy of filing an appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
4. The court considered the issuance of a notification by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, which extended the limitation for filing an appeal by three months.
5. The judgment emphasizes the importance of availing the statutory remedy of appeal and directs the timely resolution of the appeal by the appropriate authority.

Case Synopsis:

The petitioner, Satyam Steels, filed the writ petition challenging the order-in-original dated 10.3.2023 (referred to as Ext.P8) which denied the transitional credit under Section 140(3) (of Income Tax Act, 1961) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017/Kerala Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017.

During the pendency of the writ petition, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs issued a notification on 31.7.2023, extending the limitation for filing an appeal by three months from the date of issuance of the notification.

Taking advantage of this notification, the petitioner has already filed an appeal under Section 107 (of Income Tax Act, 1961) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 against the impugned Ext.P8 order before the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) of CGST, Kochi.

Since the petitioner has already availed the statutory remedy of appeal against the impugned order, the court finds it inappropriate to keep the writ petition pending. Therefore, the court disposes of the writ petition with a direction to the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) of the CGST, Kochi to decide the appeal filed by the petitioner against the impugned Ext.P8 order expeditiously and in accordance with the law.

With this direction, the writ petition stands finally disposed of, and any pending interlocutory application in the writ petition stands dismissed.

FAQ:

Q1: What was the writ petition about?

A1: The writ petition (WP(C) No. 19239 of 2023) was filed by Satyam Steels challenging the denial of transitional credit under the GST Act.

Q2: What was the outcome of the writ petition?

A2: The High Court of Kerala disposed of the writ petition and directed the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) of the CGST, Kochi to expeditiously decide the appeal filed by the petitioner against the impugned order.

Q3: What is the significance of the court’s direction?

A3: The court emphasized the importance of availing the statutory remedy of appeal and directed the timely resolution of the appeal by the appropriate authority.

The present writ petition has been filed impugning the order-in-original dated 10.3.2023 in Ext.P8 denying the transitional credit under Section 140(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017/Kerala Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that during the pendency of this writ petition, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had issued notification on 31.7.2023 extending the limitation for filing appeal by three (3) months from the date of issuance of the notification.

Taking the benefit of the said notification, the petitioner has already filed appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 against the impugned Ext.P8 order before the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) of CGST, Kochi.

2. Since the petitioner has already availed the statutory remedy of appeal against the impugned order, Ext.P8, keeping this writ petition pending on the files of this Court does not appear to be proper. Therefore, the present writ petition is disposed of with direction to the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) of the CGST, Kochi to decide the appeal filed by the petitioner against the impugned Ext.P8 order dated 10.3.2023 expeditiously, in accordance with law.

With the aforesaid direction, the present writ petition stands finally disposed of. Pending interlocutory application, if any, in the present writ petition stands dismissed.

Sd/-

DINESH KUMAR SINGH

JUDGE