Section 39 and 47 of the CGST Act —Levy of Late Fee – The Petitioner dealing with the trading of areca-nut has been issued registration, filing returns from time to time. The petitioner submitted that there was a minor delay in filing the GST returns for various periods and as a result thereof, the petitioner was served with a demand notice dated 13.03.2020 by the respondent for an amount of Rs. 9,72,519/-. The aforementioned demand notice is based on the gross tax instead of net tax and has to exclude the input tax credit. The petitioner submitted that on 12.06.2020, GST Council recommended to give reduction in Late Fee for past GST Returns and other measures to reduce the burden of the taxpayers such as Late Fee, Interest etc. The petitioner prayed for a direction on the issue. The respondent supported the demand notice but did not deny certain moratorium given on 12.06.2020.
Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court disposed the writ petition directing the respondent to afford an opportunity of being heard to the petitioner and take a decision within a period of two months, till such time, the operation of demand notice is ordered to be kept in abeyance.—Bijeesh P.V. Vs The Superintendent of Central Tax And Central Excise, The Union of India [2020] 25 TAXLOK.COM 075 (Kerala)