Facts of the Case

P Jagadish, proprietor of Veepeeyes Trade Links, a GST-registered dealer, challenged two notices — Ext.P5 dated 13.06.2023 and Ext.P6 dated 26.08.2023 — issued by the Superintendent of CGST and Central Excise, Kayamkulam Range, directing him to file pending GSTR-3B returns for February–March 2022, failing which his tax liability could be assessed under Section 62 of the GST Act based on available material. The petitioner's registration had been cancelled from 29.11.2022 for non-filing of returns and restored only on 31.05.2023, during which period he had taken a supply from IREL (India) Ltd. on 08.03.2023 as an unregistered dealer. He was awaiting revised, GST-compliant invoices from IREL to enable him to file the pending return correctly, and IREL had, by a letter dated 06.09.2023, sought more time to issue them.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner should be granted further extension of time to file the pending GSTR-3B returns while awaiting revised invoices from his supplier, beyond the 15 days already allowed under Ext.P6.
  2. Whether coercive action under Section 46 of the GST Act should be restrained until the supplier issues the revised invoices.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner had taken supply from IREL as an unregistered dealer during the period his registration stood cancelled, and IREL needed to issue revised invoices reflecting the correct (registered) status before he could properly file his GSTR-3B; IREL itself had sought more time to process this.
  • The 15 days granted under Ext.P6 had already expired, and the petitioner should be granted further time to file returns once the revised invoices were received.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No formal opposing submissions from the department are separately recorded; the disposal reflects the Court's own assessment that indefinite extension was not warranted.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court noted the petitioner had approached IREL for revised invoices only after the time to file the return under Ext.P5 had already expired, and that more than three months had passed since his original request, with IREL's response (Ext.P7) still only promising future compliance.
  • The Court held it was difficult to extend time indefinitely, or to restrain Section 46 proceedings, merely to wait for the supplier to issue revised invoices.
  • However, as a last opportunity, the Court directed that if the petitioner filed his returns within three weeks from the date of the judgment, the same would be processed in accordance with law.
  • The petition was disposed of on this limited, time-bound direction — no ruling was made on the correctness of the petitioner's ITC position or IREL's invoicing obligations.

Important Clarification

This is a narrow, discretionary timing decision — the Court did not decide whether the petitioner is entitled to any input tax credit relating to the IREL supply, nor did it fault IREL for the invoicing delay; it simply gave the petitioner one final three-week window to file his GSTR-3B before Section 46 default-assessment proceedings could follow. Registered persons awaiting corrected invoices from suppliers should not assume courts will indefinitely excuse return-filing delays on that ground — the message here is that filing deadlines are enforced strictly, with only limited last-chance extensions.

Sections Involved

  • Section 46, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — notice to return defaulters.
  • Section 62, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — assessment of non-filers of returns.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of without a substantive ruling in either party's favour — a final three-week window to file returns was granted, but no further extension or restraint on Section 46 action was allowed beyond that.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam
  • Case No.: WP(C) No. 30225 of 2023
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh
  • Date of Judgment: 14 September 2023

Link to Download the Order

Click here to view/download the full order

Disclaimer

This content is shared strictly for general information and knowledge purposes only. Readers should independently verify the information from reliable sources. It is not intended to provide legal, professional, or advisory guidance. The author and the organisation disclaim all liability arising from the use of this content. The material has been prepared with the assistance of AI tools.