Facts of the Case

The petitioner, a cable TV operator running Kumbalam Cable Vision, uses electric poles belonging to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to string his cable network within the Kumbalam Grama Panchayath area, under an agreement requiring him to pay fixed charges to KSEB for this pole usage. GST is admittedly payable on these charges. The petitioner's grievance was that KSEB was not issuing a separate invoice for the service charges collected from him, which prevented him from claiming input tax credit for the GST he had remitted to KSEB. He had filed a representation dated 28.11.2022 seeking a proper invoice, which remained undecided, and separately challenged a notice dated 24.11.2022 issued by KSEB.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether KSEB was obliged to issue a separate invoice for the GST-inclusive pole-usage charges collected from the petitioner, so as to enable him to claim input tax credit.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • KSEB was not providing a separate invoice for the service charges collected for pole usage, and consequently the petitioner was unable to claim input tax credit for the GST amount he had remitted to KSEB.
  • A representation dated 28.11.2022 had been filed on this issue but remained undecided.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The order does not record a specific opposing submission from KSEB's standing counsel beyond appearance in the matter.

Court Order / Findings

  • Considering these facts, the Court disposed of the writ petition with a direction to the second respondent (Executive Engineer, KSEB) to inform the petitioner of the decision taken on his Exhibit P-3 representation within one month, after affording him an opportunity of being heard.
  • No finding was recorded on whether the petitioner was, in fact, entitled to a separate GST invoice or to the input tax credit itself — that determination was left to KSEB's decision on the representation.

Important Clarification

This order does not itself grant the petitioner input tax credit or direct KSEB to issue a GST invoice — it simply compels KSEB to actually decide the petitioner's pending representation on this point within a month. Businesses facing a similar problem — paying GST to a supplier but not receiving a proper tax invoice needed to claim ITC — should note that the remedy secured here was procedural (a decision on representation), not a substantive ruling entitling them to credit.

Sections Involved

  • Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — provisions on invoicing (Section 31) and eligibility for input tax credit (Section 16), which require a valid tax invoice as a precondition for claiming credit — the underlying issue driving the petitioner's grievance.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of without a decision on merits; the petitioner secured a time-bound direction for KSEB to decide his representation, not a ruling on entitlement to a GST invoice or input tax credit.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam
Case No.: WP(C) No. 38722 of 2022
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh
Date of Judgment: 08.09.2023

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