The HC held that orders blocking debit from taxpayers'...

The HC held that orders blocking debit from taxpayers' Electronic Credit Ledgers (ECL) beyond the Input Tax Credit (ITC) available at the time are unsustainable and set aside such entries to that extent, allowing the petitioners. The court construed Rule 86A as an emergent, protective power permitting the Commissioner or an authorized officer to temporally withhold available ITC where there is reason to believe credits were fraudulently availed or ineligible, but not as a recovery mechanism. Such withholding may be exercised without prior show-cause notice given its protective character, yet it cannot bar debits exceeding the actual ECL balance. Arguments based on differing HC pronouncements and interim Supreme Court orders were rejected on the facts.

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