GST Section 125 General Penalty Cannot Be Levied If Section 47 Late Fee Is Already Paid: Allahabad HC:

GST Section 125 General Penalty Cannot Be Levied If Section 47 Late Fee Is Already Paid: Allahabad HC The Allahabad High Court sets aside the GST order imposing a general penalty under Section 125 of the Act on the grounds that the penalty under the said section is imposed when provisions of the Act are violated or where no specific penalty has clearly been provided; however, in the present case, the taxpayer had already paid a late fee under Section 47 of the Act. M/S A and D Construction has filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court, challenging an order dated December 12, 2024, passed by the GST authorities under Section 125 of the U.P. Goods and Services Act, 2017. The impugned order had imposed a general penalty on the petitioner.

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Shri Deepak Kumar Pandey, representing the case on the petitioner's behalf, submits that the petitioner had filed its GST return along with the liable late fee applicable under Section 47 of the Act. Therefore, the additional penalty imposed by the tax authorities under Section 125 of the Act is liable to be set aside because the provisions of the said section deal with a general penalty to be imposed where no specific penalty is separately provided for in the Act, and in the present case, the late fee was already paid. To support this claim, the counsel also cited a Madras High Court judgement in the case titled TVL. Jainsons Castors & Industrial Products Vs The Assistant Commissioner (ST); 2025 U.P.T.C. (VOL. 119)-562, which held that penalties cannot be imposed under both Section 47 and Section 125 for the same default.

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When the high court heard arguments from both sides, it noted that if the fee for filing a late return has already been paid, then no additional penalty should be imposed under Section 125 of the Act. The imposition of a general penalty in the current case will be too harsh a measure and will also be unfair as per the law. Considering the aforementioned findings, the high court quashed the impugned order dated December 12, 2024, passed under Section 125 of the Act and closed the case with these directions.