Best Judgement Assessment to be quashed once Belated GST Returns are Filed: High Court

Ms Bhangal Construction Co. got hit with an assessment order on January 3, 2020 under Section 62 of the UPGST Act, 2017, because they had not filed their GST returns on time. After the order showed up, they went ahead and filed the missing returns. Their main argument? Section 62(2) of the Act says if you file the returns after an assessment order, the order should basically disappear on its own.

Issue

If a taxpayer files their GST returns late after the assessment order lands does that order automatically get withdrawn? And can the authorities actually let the late returns slide?

Court Observation

That the court had to say. They pointed out that yes, the company did file their returns after the order was passed. But it is not all black and white; the authorities have the wiggle room to forgive that delay. The court made it clear: Once the taxpayer files the returns, the tax authorities should not just stick rigidly to the earlier order. They need to look at the situation afresh, based on the new filings.

Judgement

The court tossed out the original assessment order from January 3, 2020. They told the authorities to take a good look at why the returns were filed late, decide if they should let that slide, and then pass a new order that takes the fresh returns into account. Simple as that.