Tax Transition Allowed: TDS under Section 5 of TNVAT Act 2006 can be carried over to Section 140 of TNGST Act 2017.

The HC allowed the writ petition, permitting the transition of tax deducted at source under Section 5 of the TNVAT Act, 2006, to be carried over under Section 140 of the TNGST Act, 2017. The decision followed a precedent where the respondent had accepted a similar order without appeal. The court noted that this ruling should not be seen as precedent if the revenue presents new arguments in the future. The petition was granted without costs, and related miscellaneous petitions were closed.

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Issues:
Whether tax deducted at source under Section 5 read with Section 13 of TNVAT Act, 2006 could be transited under Section 140 of TNGST Act, 2017.

Analysis:
The writ petition was filed seeking a writ of certiorari to challenge the impugned proceedings made by the Respondent in GSTIN33AALFS5637A1ZD/2017-18 dated 29.11.2019. The learned counsel for the petitioner referred to a previous order dated 01.12.2020 in a batch of writ petitions involving a similar issue, wherein the Government Advocate (Taxes) confirmed acceptance of the order by the respondent without further appeal. The issue centered around whether tax deducted at source under Section 5 of TNVAT Act, 2006 could be transitioned under Section 140 of TNGST Act, 2017. The learned Government Advocate (Taxes) conceded the case, stating that the respondent had accepted the previous order, leading the court to follow the same precedent in the present writ petition.

The court emphasized that the decision in the present case should not be construed as having any presidential value if the revenue were to present fresh arguments after re-examining the issue. Despite this, the court noted that a previous decision of the Hon'ble Telangana High Court in a similar situation under the Telangana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 had been considered in a different case and ruled in favor of the petitioners therein. Consequently, the court allowed the writ petition in terms of the observations made, with no costs incurred. The connected writ miscellaneous petitions were also closed as a result of the judgment.

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