Electronic credit ledger blocking dispute not examined on merits while Section 73 proceedings were already pending.

Blocking of the electronic credit ledger under Rule 86A was not examined on merits because proceedings under Section 73 read with Rule 142(1A) were already pending. The High Court held that the petitioner should place invoices, records and other relevant material before the assessing authority in the ongoing statutory process, rather than seek writ intervention at that stage. The writ court declined to go into the merits of the input tax credit dispute and relegated the petitioner to the pending proceedings.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging blocking of the electronic credit ledger under Rule 86A was liable to be entertained when proceedings under Section 73 of the Jharkhand Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 were already pending.

Analysis: The petitioner's challenge arose from notices issued for reversal of input tax credit after the vendor's alleged default in filing returns. However, since statutory proceedings under Section 73 read with Rule 142(1A) had already been initiated, the proper course was for the petitioner to place invoices, records and other relevant material before the assessing authority. In these circumstances, it was not appropriate for the writ court to examine the merits of the dispute at that stage.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not entertained on merits and the petitioner was relegated to the pending statutory proceedings.

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