The Madras High Court (HC) has held that the rectification application under section 161 of the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 is not valid when the assessee failed to cooperate in the assessment.
Mr Sri Prakash appeared for the petitioner and Mr V. Prashanth Kiran appeared for the respondent.
M/s.Seoyon E-Hwa Summit Automotive India Pvt. Ltd, the petitioner challenged the order of assessment passed under the provisions of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (GST Act) and an order rejecting the rectification application filed under Section 161 of the GST Act.
The petitioner received various notices including a show cause notice related to the grant or otherwise of Input Tax Credit (ITC).
It was evident that the petitioner was given sufficient opportunities before the finalisation of the assessment to justify its claim of ITC. The respondent in the show cause notice has set out the claim of ITC calling upon the petitioner to furnish the details of ITC category-wise/tax type-wise and explain the variations he has noticed.
According to the petitioner, there could be no variations, since the returns filed by it in GSTR 3B contain its claim of ITC under several types, whereas the returns in Form GSTR 2A and GSTR 9, one filed by the supplier and the other auto-populated, contain details of ITC under only a few categories. The petitioner thus argues that the officer incorrectly called for the particulars and issued notice.
The petitioner has not cooperated in the proceedings for assessment leaving the Assessing Officer no choice but to complete the assessment based on the available materials and without any explanations for his benefit.
The petitioner then filed an application under Section 161 of the Act seeking rectification of errors allegedly apparent on the record. This application has come to be rejected by way of an order dated 18.04.2023.
While dismissing the petition, the single-judge bench comprising Dr Justice Anita Sumanth observed that the Officer has set out in the impugned orders that the petitioner has not cooperated in the course of assessment, either originally or in the rectification sought.
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