Tax Appeal Granted: Partial Bank Account Unfreeze Allows Petitioner to Challenge Demand and File Statutory Appeal Within 4 Weeks

HC allowed petitioner's appeal against tax demand, granting liberty to file statutory appeal before Deputy Commissioner within 4 weeks. Court directed partial bank account unfreeze, permitting 10% withdrawal to facilitate appeal filing. Interim relief provided without imposing costs, addressing ITC recovery demand and related penalty concerns under TNGST Act.

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Issues involved: Confirmation of demand for recovery of Input Tax Credit (ITC) towards SGST and CGST, imposition of interest and penalty, statutory appeal remedy, freezing of petitioner's bank account.

Confirmation of demand for recovery of ITC: The writ petition was filed against the order confirming the demand for recovery of ITC amounting to Rs. 1,58,258/- each towards SGST and CGST, with interest of Rs. 87,833/- on each tax demanded, and a penalty of Rs. 15,826/- each against the demand for SGST and CGST, invoking Section 73 of the TNGST Act.

Statutory appeal remedy: The petitioner was granted liberty to file a statutory appeal before the Deputy Commissioner, Tirunelveli, within four weeks against the impugned order dated 08.05.2023. The Deputy Commissioner was directed to entertain the appeal and pass orders on its merits upon filing within the stipulated period.

Freezing of petitioner's bank account: The petitioner's counsel raised the issue of the petitioner's bank account being frozen. The Deputy Commissioner was tasked with deciding on the freezing of the bank account. As an interim measure to enable the petitioner to file the appeal, the Deputy Commissioner was instructed to allow the petitioner to withdraw 10% of the required amount for filing the appeal from his bank account within four weeks. No costs were awarded, and connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.

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