SimplifiTax - Tax, Accounting & Financial Advisory

Case details : Satyadevi Alamuri Liquidator of G.B. Engineering Enterprises (P.) Ltd. vs. Office of Assistant Commissioner of GST and Central Excise - [2025] 177 taxmann.com 236 (Madras)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

C.Saravanan, J.
M.G. Pranava Charan for the Petitioner
R.Gowri Shankar for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner-company went into liquidation and its GST registration was cancelled, with fresh registration obtained thereafter. During the relevant period when the company was under liquidation, payments towards GST liability were made in cash into the Electronic Cash Ledger, but the Liquidator could not upload returns in Form GSTR-01 and Form GSTR-3B as the company had failed to file returns for an earlier period. An order was passed confirming demand of short-paid GST liability, which the petitioner challenged on the ground that such cash payments had not been recognised by the jurisdictional officer under GST. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court of Madras.

HC Held

The High Court of Madras held that the only defect was the inability of the Liquidator to upload the returns in Form GSTR-01 and Form GSTR-3B due to pending earlier returns, while the fact remained that amounts had been transferred into the Electronic Cash Ledger as and when the tax liability arose, in accordance with section 49 of the respective GST enactments. Reference was made to Circular No. 134/04/2020-GST, dated 23-03-2020 , wherein in similar circumstances a liquidator was advised to obtain fresh registration and apply for refund, which was intended merely as a trade facilitation measure. It was held that there could be no impediment to appropriating the amounts already paid in the Electronic Cash Ledger to square off the tax liability, and therefore the impugned order was quashed.