2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 76070

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
Honourable Mr Justice C. SARAVANAN
SUDHA SECURITY PROTECTION FORCE PRIVATE LIMITED – Appellant
Versus
THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER (ST) – Respondent
W.P.No.46856 of 2025 | W.P.No.46871 of 2025 | W.P.No.46862 of 2025 | W.P.No.46865 of 2025 | W.P.No.46882 of 2025 | W.P.No.46894 of 2025 | W.P.No.46888 of 2025 | W.P.No.46938 of 2025

The court allowed the petitioner to explain the correct interest payable under GST Section 50 while securing revenue through a conditional deposit and lifting bank attachments pending final determination.

Headnote:(A) Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 - Section 50 - Computation of interest - Challenge to assessment orders and bank attachment notices - Petitioner paid Rs.31,39,125/- out of Rs.44,39,325/- towards interest - Respondent conceded payment - Court directed petitioner to explain the correct interest amount and deposit additional Rs.2.5 lakhs within 30 days - Recovery proceedings kept in abeyance and bank attachments lifted subject to deposit - Opportunity to pass fresh order within three months.

Facts of the case:
The petitioner company challenged eight separate orders/computations of interest under Section 50 of the GST Act for different assessment years (2017-18 to 2020-21). The petitioner claimed that it had already paid Rs.31,39,125/- on 20.02.2024 towards the disputed interest amount of Rs.44,39,325/-. The respondent revenue officers conceded that the said amount appeared to have been paid. The petitioner also challenged subsequent bank attachment notices issued by the respondents.

Findings of Court:
The court, recording the concession by the respondents, disposed the writ petitions by providing the petitioner an opportunity to explain that the interest payable is not more than the amount already paid (Rs.31,39,125/-). To secure the revenue's interest, the petitioner was directed to deposit an additional Rs.2.5 lakhs within 30 days. The impugned recovery proceedings and bank attachments were directed to be kept in abeyance/lifted subject to such deposit. The respondents were directed to pass a fresh order on the interest computation within three months.

Issues: The main issues were whether the interest computed by the revenue under Section 50 was correct, and whether the bank attachment notices should be quashed pending final determination.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that since the respondent conceded the payment of Rs.31,39,125/-, the petitioner must be given an opportunity to demonstrate that the interest amount is not higher than that sum. To balance the interests, a conditional deposit was ordered and the coercive recovery measures were suspended pending final adjudication.

Result: All writ petitions disposed of. No costs. Connected miscellaneous petitions closed.

COMMON ORDER

By this common order, all the eight Writ Petitions are disposed of. In the following Writ petitions, the Petitioner has challenged the computation of interest under Section 50 of the respective GST Enactment Act .

2. Learned counsel for the Petitioner submits that the Petitioner on 20.02.2024 has already paid a sum of Rs.31,39,125/- out of the aforesaid sum of Rs.44,39,325/-. He further submits that the above computation has been made for the first time in the respective impugned Orders. According to the learned counsel for the Petitioner, the amount to be paid towards interest is only Rs.31,39,125/- and not Rs.44,39,325/- and that the computation is incorrect.

3. Learned counsel for the Respondents fairly concedes that the above amount as mentioned above appears to have been paid by the Petitioner.

4. Recording the above submission of the learned counsel for the Respondents, the above mentioned Writ Petitions are disposed by giving an opportunity to the Petitioner to explain the amount payable by the Petitioner towards interest is not over and above Rs.31,39,125/- which was purportedly paid on 20.02.2024.

5. With a view to secure the interest of Revenue, Petitioner is however directed to deposit another Rs.2.5 lakhs over and above the amounts already deposited within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

6. Insofar as the rest of the writ Petitions are concerned as challenge is to the recovery notices issued to the Petitioner’s bank detailed above.

7. In view of the order s passed in so far as the computation of the interest in Writ Petition, the impugned recovery proceedings are directed to be kept in abeyance. Pending further orders by the Respondent. Consequently, all attachment of the Petitioner’s bank account shall stand lifted subject to Petitioner depositing Rs.2.5 lakhs as ordered above.

8. The respondents shall thereafter proceed to pass an appropriate order in so far as the interest is concerned within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order .

9. These Writ Petitions stands disposed of with the above observations. No costs. Connected Writ Miscellaneous Petitions are closed.

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