Taxpayers must be granted an opportunity to rectify bona-fide clerical errors in tax filings. Furthermore, remedial legislative amendments that extend deadlines for claiming input tax credit are applicable to pending disputes concerning specified financial years, overriding previous procedural denials based on outdated time limits.

JUDGMENT :

Devashis Baruah, J.

Heard Mr. P. Agarwal, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner and Mr. Z. Kulnu, the learned Standing counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7.

2. The present writ petition has been filed by the Petitioner seeking various reliefs. The reliefs at Clauses (i) to (ix) being the main reliefs are reproduced herein under:

“(i) An appropriate writ/order/direction including writ of declaration may not be issued declaring the impugned Notification No.49/2019-Central Tax dated 09.10.2019 (Annexure-19) as unconstitutional and unreasonable being violative of Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India; and/or

(ii) An appropriate writ/order/direction may not be issued directing the Respondents to act as per para 2 of the Notification No.72/2017-Central Tax dated 29.12.2017, etc. (Annexure-17); and/or

(iii) An appropriate writ/order/direction may not be issued directing the Respondents to accept the GSTR-3B returns without any issue of delay till the time the system is not rectified to enable filing of returns without payment of output tax, and to prohibit the Respondents from proceeding further in such like cases; and/or

(iv) An appropriate writ/order/direction may not be issued declaring the impugned Notification No.23/2017-CT dated 17.08.2017, etc. (Annexure- 12) as unconstitutional and ultra vires to the parent Act; and/or

(v) An appropriate writ/order/direction may not be issued for quashing and setting aside Notification No.09/2023-Central Tax dated 31.03.2023 (Annexure-23); and/or

(vi) An appropriate writ/order/direction may not be issued for quashing and setting aside the impugned Notification No.56/2023-Central Tax dated 28.12.2023 (Annexure-26); and/or

(vii) An appropriate writ/order/direction may not be issued for quashing and setting aside impugned order dated 30.04.2024 (Annexure-30); and/or

(viii) An appropriate writ/order/direction including a writ of prohibition, may not be issued prohibiting the Respondents from proceeding further to deny ITC and to recover tax/ITC in pursuance of the illegal impugned inactions/illegal actions /notifications of the Respondents; and/or (ix) An appropriate writ/order/direction including a writ of prohibition, may not be issued prohibiting the Respondents from treating these as delayed returns and prohibit them from recovering tax by denying ITC on account of delayed filing of returns; and/or

Upon being satisfied and after going through the records of the case Your Lordship’s may be please to make the Rule absolute and/or may pass such other or further Order(s) as Your Lordship’s may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstance of the present case.”

3. It is relevant to take note of that though various notifications have been put to challenge but the primary challenge is to the order dated 30.04.2024 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax, Dimapur Division i.e. the Respondent No.7 under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short ‘the CGST Act’).

4. Let this Court take into consideration why the Petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 30.04.2024 passed by the Respondent No.7.

5. The order dated 30.04.2024 relates to the Financial Year 2018-19. The order dated 30.04.2024 was passed for two reasons. First, on account of mi