The HC ruled that the petitioner is entitled to the benefit of...

The HC ruled that the petitioner is entitled to the benefit of the Amnesty Scheme for waiver of late fees for filing GSTR-1 and GSTR-9 returns beyond Rs. 10,000/-. The Court found it improper to create differential treatment between taxpayers who filed returns before the amnesty notifications (No. 7/2023 and 25/2023) were issued and those who filed within the period prescribed by the notifications. Following precedents from HP HC in RT Pharma and Kerala HC in Anishia Chandrakanth, the Court held that the spirit of the notifications was to encourage return filing, and taxpayers should not be prejudiced merely because they filed returns prior to the notification date. Petition disposed of accordingly.