The Hon'ble Bombay High Court has dismissed the Goods and Service Tax Practitioners’ Association’s plea for GSTR9/9C due date extension.
Goods and Service Tax Practitioners’ Association, Mumbai and its President Shri. Raj Pravin Shah as the petitioners preferred to present writ petition for a direction to the respondents to extend the periodicity of filing of annual returns in the State of Maharashtra until complete lock-down is lifted or until the covid-19 pandemic situation improves completely. The petitioners further seek to the respondents to extend periodicity of limitation of filing of annual returns for the year 2019-20 in the State of Maharashtra upto 30.06.2021.
It has been averred in the writ petition that covid-19 pandemic particularly in the State of Maharashtra is not yet over. Rather in recent days, there has been an increase in the number of cases of people being infected with covid-19. Lock-down imposed in the State of Maharashtra has not yet been completely withdrawn. As a matter of fact, several areas in the State of Maharashtra have seen fresh lock-downs in different forms in the recent past.
The bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Milind N. Jhadav said that it is not that the time-limit has not been extended. The initial due date of 31.12.2020 has been extended to 28.02.2021.
That apart, on going through the relevant provisions of the CGST Act, more particularly the provision of section 47(2) thereof, we do not find that non-extension of the time-limit beyond 28.02.2021 would lead to any extinguishment of right.
Also, the court is not inclined to accede to the prayer made by the petitioners that too at this eleventh hour.
Further note note was taken to the fact that it was the professional body of GST practitioners who was before the court and not any individual taxable person expressing any difficulty in adhering to the extended timeline of 28.02.2021.
And thus taking into consideration the circumstances writ petition was dismissed for GSTR9 and 9C due date extension.
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