In a recent order, the division bench of the Meghalaya High Court has declined the plea of the assessee spreading out the overdue amount over the rest of the installments.
The petitioner, Jud Cements Ltd, had already received a order permitting them to pay GST dues around Rs. 44 crores in 23 monthly installments.
The petitioner sought for an order that will require the petitioning assessee not to make the installment payments in the month of April, 2022 – for which the assessee is already in default – and for the months of May and June, 2022. The petitioner suggested that the amounts due for these three months would be added to the total amount due on June 30, 2022 for the remainder of the installments to provide for greater payments than originally envisaged and without seeking more installments than already provided for.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee, and Justice W. Diengdoh observed that “the petitioner herein having cried wolf without justifiable cause in the past for the petitioner’s more worthy subsequent plea to be somewhat diluted by the previous conduct. By the order dated December 7, 2021, the petitioning assessee was permitted to pay the entire outstanding amount of Rs.43,49,50,071/- in 24 equal ornearly equal monthly installments beginning December 15, 2021 and payable by the 15th day of the 23 succeeding months.”
“However, in view of the apparent damage to the petitioning assessee’s manufacturing facility, a moratorium for a period of two months is granted. That is to say that the payment that was due in April, 2022 will not be deemed to have been defaulted and the payment due in May, 2022 need not be paid by the 15th day of this month. The amount due in April, 2022 must be paid along with the amount due in June, 2022 and the amount due in May, 2022 must be paid along with the installment due in July, 2022. The prayer for spreading out the overdue amount over the rest of the installments is expressly declined. The amounts for the months of April and May, 2022 will have to be made good in the manner indicated,” the bench said.
Concluding the order, the Court added that “upon the first default of the petitioning assessee in making the payment in terms of this order and without further reference to this Court or other authority, it will be open to the Department to take immediateappropriate steps in accordance with law and the petitioning assessee will be deemed to be in default of the entire amount then due.”
Comments