The Allahabad High Court has held that the benefit of Input Tax Credit (ITC) cannot be denied for mere non-mentioning of Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) in supplier certificate.
The bench of Justice Piyush Agrawal has observed that once the supplier’s certificate as per the Government Order was there, which has not been denied, the benefit of the same has been denied on the alleged ground that GSTN have not been mentioned in the certificates.
A proceedings under Section 73 of UP GST Act was initiated against the petitioner/assessee on the ground of wrong availment of input tax credit against which an appeal has been filed but the same has also been dismissed without considering the material on record.
A circular has been issued on 27.12.2022 clearly stating that in the event the supply is less than 5 lakhs then certificate of supplier will be sufficient for clarifying the position. In pursuance of the same, the certificate of all the concerned supplies were brought on record, however, no due weightage of the same, has been given by the respondent department.
The assessee submitted that the department has wrongly recorded the fact that GSTN are not mentioned in the certificates, therefore, benefit of input tax credit has been denied.
The department has contended that the proceedings have rightly been initiated as the petitioner has failed to prove the genuineness of the transactions. He submits that the petitioner has wrongly availed the benefit of input tax credit, which has been rightly denied by the orders.
The court noted that GSTN has specifically been mentioned in the certificate. The matter requires reconsideration by the respondent authority. The matter is remanded to the original authority, who after considering all the materials filed by the petitioner as well as after hearing all the stakeholders, shall pass a reasoned and speaking order within a period of three months.
Case Details
Case Title: M/S Bhagwan Das Agrahari Versus State
Case No.: WRIT TAX No. – 1403 of 2024
Date: 24.1.2025
Counsel For Appellant: Ajay Kumar Yadav
Counsel For Respondent: B.K. Pandey
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