GSTR-2A is only facilitative. Allahabad High Court orders refund of over Rs. 230 crores to Vivo Mobile

ITC under GST: GSTR-2A is only facilitative. Allahabad High Court orders refund of over Rs. 230 crores to Vivo Mobile.

In the matter of the ITC claim, reliance was placed wholly by revenue authorities on Circular letter no. 113 dated 11-11-2019 was plainly misplaced because a Circular remains an administrative instruction issued to give effect to statutory law.

Once the petitioner was permitted to claim a "cumulative adjustment" for the prior period while filing the return for a later period, clearly it is the date of filing a return for a later period on which cumulative effect would arise and be given effect to.

Once legislature introduced such a provision, no inherent logic exists or arises to restrict application of first proviso to rule 36(4) to principle contained in pre-existing rule.

Therefore, while rule 36(4) may have made a provision to necessarily apply computation of eligible ITC on a month-to-month basis, at same time, a conscious departure was caused by first proviso thereto, for a fixed period February, 2020 to August, 2020.

It would defeat very purpose of proviso if it were to be read to only allow a mathematical computation of amounts of eligible ITC as they existed on last date of filing of GSTR-1 for months of February, 2020 to August, 2020, individually.

Once petitioner was permitted to claim a "cumulative adjustment" for prior period while filing return for later period, clearly it is date of filing a return for a later period on which cumulative effect would arise and be given effect to.

The amount deposited was ordered to be refunded with interest. The whole process of availing ITC through online mechanism is in trial and error phase even today and making taxpayers bear the cross for all the administrative failings

including GSTR-2A fiasco and the complete ignorance of tax authorities can only portray India as really backward when it comes to tax reforms. Vivo Mobile India Pvt. Ltd. v Union of India (Writ Tax No. 433/2021; 05-Sep-2023)