GST: NAA finds Nirala Projects guilty of Profiteering, but no penalty imposed [Read Order]

The Profiteering watchdog, National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) found Nirala Projects guilty of profiteering, but no penalty imposed.

The Applicants alleged that the Respondent, Nirala Projects had not passed on the benefit of additional Input tax Credit (ITC) to the Applicant as well as other home buyers who had purchased them in his Project “Nirala Greenshire”.

The DGAP reported that the Respondent had denied the benefit of ITC to the Applicants and other buyers amounting to Rs. 2,88,43,422, pertaining to the period with effect from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018 and had thus indulged in profiteering and violation of the provisions of Section 171 (1) of the Act.

The Authority headed by President Dr. B.N. Sharma held that the Respondent had not passed on the benefit of additional Input tax Credit (ITC) to the Applicants as well as other home buyers who had purchased them in his Project “Nirala Greenshire” for the period from  July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018 and hence, the Respondent has violated the provisions of Section 171 (1) of the CGST Act, 2017.

The NAA further said that the penalty prescribed under Section 171 (3A) cannot be imposed on the Respondent authority as retrospectively.

“Accordingly, the notice dated February 4, 2020 issued to the Respondent for imposition of penalty under Section 177 (3A) is hereby withdrawn and the present penalty proceedings launched against him are accordingly dropped,” the NAA said.