InWrit Petition (L) No. 5754 of 2023 -BOM HC- Bombay High Court slams tax officials for inaction on GST return filings, calls for accountability
Justice G.S. Kulkarni & Justice Jitendra Jain [26-09-2023]

Read Order:Prushin Fintech Pvt. Ltd v. Union of India

Chahat Varma

New Delhi, October 11, 2023: In a recent decision, the Bombay High Court has slammed tax officials for not responding to 20+ representations made by Prushin Fintech Pvt. Ltd. (petitioner) on the issue of GST return filing.

The case revolved the petitioner, which had repeatedly informed the concerned tax officers that it had already filed its GST returns. The company even submitted acknowledgments of the filed returns as part of the record. Despite these efforts to communicate the issue, the state authorities issued a show-cause notice, claiming that the returns had not been filed.

The division bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Jitendra Jain was disturbed by the inaction on the part of the State officers and observed that such an approach was not expected in a regime of ease of doing business.The bench emphasized that revenue officials should not adopt a stance of silence, as it can lead to unwarranted litigation and disrupt the well-planned statutory regime.

The court remarked, “We could have easily disposed of the petition directing that the representations of the Petitioner be considered by the department, however, we cannot overlook the accountability of the officers, not only to the assessee, but also to the Court…”

In response to the petitioner's claims, the state tax officials attempted to cast doubt on the correctness of the return acknowledgments. In light of this, the bench directed the Commissioner of State Tax to verify the portal and the system made available to the petitioner-assessee and to file an affidavit explaining whether the returns were filed and whether there was any justification in issuing the show cause notice.

The case was adjourned until October 10, 2023, when the court will hear both parties on the various issues raised in the case.