Beneficial construction of return-correction provision extends to transitional input-tax credit and prevents denial of substantive tax relief.

Section 28(2) of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004 was construed beneficially to permit correction of a return where transitional stock input-tax credit was omitted, because the phrase "paid more tax than was due" is not confined to actual cash payment. Credit available to an assessee under the statutory scheme was treated as tax not due when the assessee was substantively entitled to that benefit. The Tribunal's hyper-technical approach was rejected, and the assessee's claim to transitional input-tax credit and corresponding adjustment or refund was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the expression "paid more tax than was due" in section 28(2) of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004 includes credit available to the assessee on transitional stock, so as to permit correction of the return and grant of input-tax credit/refund or adjustment.

Analysis: The return filed by the assessee omitted transitional stock credit, but the stock was tax-paid and otherwise qualified for input-tax credit under the statutory scheme. The Court adopted a pragmatic and beneficial construction of section 28(2), holding that the provision is intended to remedy mistakes in returns and to ensure that tax not due is not retained by the revenue. On that construction, the phrase "paid more tax than was due" is not confined to actual cash payment of tax, but extends to credit lying to the assessee's account where the assessee is substantively entitled to that benefit. The hyper-technical view taken by the Tribunal was rejected.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the transitional input-tax credit of Rs. 49,424, and the objection rejecting that claim was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the assessee obtained recognition of its entitlement to the claimed input-tax credit on transitional stock.

Ratio Decidendi: A remedial tax provision for correction of return errors must be construed pragmatically so that tax credit available to an assessee is treated as tax not due where the statute's object is to prevent denial of a substantive refund or adjustment benefit.

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