Facts of the Case

Jaison Geevarghese Oommen, proprietor of M/s. St. Mary's Cashew Factory, Puthoor, Kollam, along with connected petitioners engaged in the cashew trade (Royal Traders, Manu Joy trading as Joy's Cashew Traders, and Agility Logistics Pvt. Ltd. as counter-parties), filed four connected writ petitions — WP(C) Nos. 36404, 36492, 36515 and 36553 of 2023 — before the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam against the jurisdictional CGST Superintendents, the Commissioner of Central Tax & Excise, the Commissioner of State Tax, the Union of India and the State of Kerala. The petitions concerned the petitioners' eligibility for input tax credit that was not reflected in GSTR-2A, supported by invoices and e-way bills annexed as exhibits. The matters came up for admission on 06.11.2023 and were heard together.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioners' entitlement to input tax credit that is not reflected in the suppliers' GSTR-2A can be examined and established before the Assessing Authority on the strength of supporting documents.
  2. Whether liberty should be granted to the petitioners to pursue further legal remedies in the event an adverse order is passed by the Assessing Authority.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioners are entitled to input tax credit on the strength of genuine tax invoices and e-way bills, notwithstanding that the corresponding entries do not appear in GSTR-2A.
  • Counsel undertook to raise all available grounds regarding eligibility for such credit before the Assessing Authority.
  • If the Assessing Authority were to pass an adverse order, the petitioners sought liberty to take recourse to appropriate proceedings available under law.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Government Pleader appeared for the State respondents; no independent contest to the petitioners' submission is recorded in the judgment, the matter having proceeded on the basis of the petitioners' own undertaking to approach the Assessing Authority.

Court Order/Findings

  • Considering the petitioners' submission that they would raise all grounds on ITC eligibility not reflected in GSTR-2A before the Assessing Authority, the Court disposed of all four writ petitions with liberty to the petitioners as prayed for.
  • No finding was recorded on the actual eligibility of the disputed input tax credit; the question was left open for the Assessing Authority to examine in the first instance.
  • The petitioners were left free to pursue appropriate proceedings under law if an adverse order follows.

Important Clarification

  • A mismatch between input tax credit claimed by a purchaser and the entries reflected in the supplier's GSTR-2A does not, by itself, foreclose the purchaser's claim; supporting documents such as tax invoices and e-way bills can be placed before the Assessing Authority.
  • Courts routinely decline to adjudicate GSTR-2A/ITC eligibility disputes themselves at the writ stage, preferring to let the Assessing Authority examine the documentary record first, while preserving the assessee's right to challenge an adverse outcome.

Sections Involved

  • Section 16, CGST Act, 2017 — eligibility and conditions for taking input tax credit.
  • Rule 36(4), CGST Rules, 2017 — restricts ITC claims to invoices reflected in the supplier's statement, the backdrop against which the GSTR-2A mismatch dispute arises.

Decision – In Favour of

The writ petitions were disposed of with liberty to the petitioners to place their case for ITC eligibility before the Assessing Authority, and to pursue further remedies if aggrieved. There is no finding on merits either way; the disposal is procedural and, in effect, keeps the door open for the assessees rather than shutting it — best described as disposed of with directions, procedurally favourable to the Assessee.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam
  • Case No.: WP(C) No. 36404 of 2023 (with connected WP(C) Nos. 36492, 36515 & 36553 of 2023)
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh
  • Decision Date: 6 November 2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of with liberty to petitioner to pursue eligibility of input tax credit not reflected in GSTR-2A through appropriate proceedings

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