Writ Tax No. 1256 of 2023

Graziano Trasmission India Pvt. Ltd. vs Goods And Services Tax And 5 Others

Date Issued: 31 May 2024
State: Uttar Pradesh
Source: HC Allahabad
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Summary

The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad dismissed a batch of writ petitions led by M/S Graziano Trasmissioni India Pvt. Ltd., upholding Central Notification No. 09/2023 and U.P. State Notification No. 515 issued under Section 168A of the CGST/UPGST Act. These notifications extended the statutory deadline under Section 73(10) for passing adjudication orders for the financial year 2017-18 up to December 31, 2023. The petitioners challenged the notifications as ultra vires, contending that no "force majeure" condition existed when the notifications were issued in early 2023 since pandemic restrictions had already been lifted. Rejecting the taxpayers' challenge, the Court held that Section 168A confers conditional legislative power upon the Government to extend time limits based on recommendations of the GST Council. The Bench ruled that the phrase "due to force majeure" is not restricted to the exact duration of an active lockdown, but extends to the lingering operational backlogs and disruptions in return scrutiny and audit caused by the pandemic. Finding no manifest arbitrariness or lack of legislative competence, the High Court affirmed the validity of the extension notifications and directed pending adjudication proceedings to proceed in accordance with law.