Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Tvl.T.Vijayakumar, a civil contractor holding GSTIN 33ABLPV5791M1ZR, failed to file his GST return for August 2024. Following a FORM GSTR-3A notice issued on 24.09.2024, the Deputy State Tax Officer, Nagercoil, passed a best-judgment assessment order dated 30.10.2024 in FORM GST ASMT-13 under Section 62 of the Tamil Nadu GST Act, 2017. The petitioner belatedly filed his return on 29.03.2025, beyond the ordinary 60-day window for the automatic-withdrawal benefit under Section 62(2), and challenged the assessment order as cryptic, non-speaking and without jurisdiction before the Madras High Court, Madurai Bench, particularly since his bank account had been attached pursuant to the order.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a best-judgment assessment order under Section 62(1) stands automatically withdrawn on filing of the belated return, even where the return is filed beyond the 60-day window mentioned in the provision.
  2. What consequential relief follows for a bank attachment made on the strength of an assessment order that stands withdrawn by operation of Section 62(2).
  3. What safeguards remain available to the Department to verify the correctness of the belatedly filed return.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Section 62(2) provides that filing of a valid return within 30 days (extended in practice to 60 days) of the assessment order results in automatic withdrawal of the best-judgment assessment, and courts have consistently held this timeline to be directory, not mandatory.
  • Having now filed the return, albeit belatedly, the assessment order should be declared withdrawn by operation of law, and the consequent bank account attachment should be lifted.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Government Advocate represented the Deputy State Tax Officer, Nagercoil, but did not seriously dispute the settled position that the time limit under Section 62(2) is directory and that filing of the return results in deemed withdrawal of the best-judgment order.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court noted that while Section 62 prescribes a 60-day time limit for filing the belated return, courts have consistently held this limit to be directory rather than mandatory, and once the late return is filed, the best-judgment assessment stands deemed withdrawn by the express statutory language of Section 62(2).
  • Applying the statutory mandate of Section 62(2), the Court declared that the impugned best-judgment assessment order stood automatically withdrawn upon the petitioner's filing of the belated return, irrespective of the delay beyond 60 days, though interest under Section 50 and late fee under Section 47 continue to apply.
  • The Department was granted liberty to verify the return filed and issue a fresh show cause notice for any short-payment discovered; the amount already collected from the petitioner was directed to be adjusted against future liabilities, and the bank attachment was directed to be lifted automatically.

Important Clarification

  • Under Section 62(2) of the CGST/SGST Act, a best-judgment assessment order under Section 62(1) is deemed withdrawn the moment the registered person files the pending valid return, and courts treat the nominal 60-day filing window as directory rather than a hard bar to this benefit.
  • Withdrawal of the assessment order under Section 62(2) does not extinguish liability for interest under Section 50 or late fee under Section 47, which continue regardless of the withdrawal.
  • Any coercive recovery measure, such as bank account attachment, that was predicated solely on the now-withdrawn best-judgment order must be lifted once the return is filed, though the Department retains the right to scrutinise the return and raise a fresh demand for any genuine short-payment.

Sections Involved

  • Section 62, Tamil Nadu GST Act, 2017 – assessment of non-filers of returns by best judgment, and automatic withdrawal on filing the return.
  • Section 46, Tamil Nadu GST Act, 2017 – empowers issuance of a notice (FORM GSTR-3A) to non-filers before best-judgment assessment.
  • Section 50, CGST Act, 2017 – interest on delayed payment of tax, which survives withdrawal of the assessment.
  • Section 47, CGST Act, 2017 – late fee for delayed filing of returns, which also survives withdrawal.

Decision – In Favour of

The decision favours the assessee. The best-judgment assessment order was declared automatically withdrawn on filing of the belated return, and the consequent bank attachment was directed to be lifted, subject to the Department's right to scrutinise the return.

Case Details

Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court; W.P(MD)No.26727 of 2025 with W.M.P(MD)No.20723 of 2025; Tvl.T.Vijayakumar vs The Deputy State Tax Officer, Nagercoil-2 Assessment Circle; Coram: Justice G.R. Swaminathan; Decided on 25.09.2025.

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