Tax authority withdraws order, court quashes GST summary report on goods transport and ITC claim, case partly allowed

HC considered a petition challenging a summary report issued for transporting goods without valid documents and for alleged excess ITC claim. In an affidavit, the authority requested permission to withdraw the impugned order forming the basis of the summary report dated 21.02.2019. Accepting this position, HC quashed and set aside the said summary report, granting liberty to the authority in terms stated in the affidavit. The petition was accordingly partly allowed, with no adjudication on the underlying merits.

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Issues involved: Challenge to orders dated 21.02.2019 and 14.11.2018 issued u/s Rule 142(5) of the Central Goods & Service Tax Rules, 2017.

Challenge to Order dated 14.11.2018:
- Facts: The petitioner is a Limited Liability Partnership engaged in manufacturing and supply of pipes and related products. The order dated 14.11.2018 was pertaining to mobile checking at Dastan Circle at S.P. Ring Road, where goods were found to be transported without valid documents.
- Submission: The petitioner's counsel argued that the demand in the order was passed without any prior demand notice, show cause notice, or order issued to the petitioner.
- Response: The Assistant Commissioner stated that a show cause notice was issued on 1.10.2018, and upon payment of tax and penalty by the petitioner, the goods were released on the same day. As a result, the challenge to this order was withdrawn by the petitioner.

Challenge to Order dated 21.02.2019:
- Facts: The State Tax Officer passed an order on 21.02.2019 under Gujarat Goods and Services Act 2017, related to excess ITC claimed by the petitioner.
- Submission: The State Tax Officer acknowledged a technical glitch in issuing the show cause notice, leading to the order being passed without proper communication of grounds to the petitioner.
- Decision: The Court quashed and set aside the summary report dated 21.02.2019, allowing the State to withdraw the order to pass a fresh show cause notice with proper procedure. The petition was partly allowed in this regard, and the rule was made absolute to this extent.

This summary captures the key issues, facts, submissions, and outcomes of the legal judgment rendered by the Gujarat High Court in response to the challenges raised by the petitioner against the orders dated 14.11.2018 and 21.02.2019 under the Central Goods & Service Tax Rules, 2017.

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