Negative Blocking of ECL Without Available ITC Held Impermissible | HC

Negative blocking of ECL

Case Details: ISKCON Steel Traders vs. Union of India - [2025] 181 taxmann.com 396 (Punjab & Haryana)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

  • Mrs Lisa Gill & Parmod Goyal, JJ.
  • Deepak Gupta, Adv. for the Petitioner.
  • Ajay Kalra, Sr. Standing Counsel & Ms Ridhi Bansal, Adv. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner challenged the action of the jurisdictional officer under GST effected negative blocking of input tax credit (ITC) in the Electronic Credit Ledger under Rule 86A of the CGST Rules. The petitioner submitted that Rule 86A does not authorise blocking of ITC exceeding the credit actually available and that negative blocking without available ITC is impermissible. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court.

High Court Held

The High Court permits withholding only of available ITC in the Electronic Credit Ledger and does not authorise negative blocking in absence of available credit. The Court observed that the provision is designed for emergent situations and can be exercised without prior notice but must be limited to credit actually present in the ledger. The Court further held that the authorities retain the statutory remedies for recovery under Sections 73 and 74 of the CGST Act if any amount is due. The Court directed that negative blocking without available ITC is impermissible.

List of Cases Referred to

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