GST Update

 Desk of CA. Praveen Sharma – 1132 Series (CAPS) 

Madras High Court IN THE CASE OF M/s. Aruna Mills v. The State Tax Officer

M/s. Aruna Mills v. The State Tax Officer

Outcome: In favour of petitioner. 

Business: Aruna Mills manufactures and supplies yarn and synthetic fibres.

 Inspection: Surprise inspections occurred on 19–20 October 2023, coinciding with a family wedding.

Disputed payments: The firm alleged that accounting staff were compelled to make DRC-03 payments without the partners’ consent.

Department’s defence: Authorities maintained that payments were voluntary and authenticated through the registered OTP mechanism.

Written objection: Aruna Mills sought relief through its representation dated 6 November 2023. 

Wedding circumstances considered: The Court declined to mechanically reject the grievance because of the 17-day interval before the objection.

DRC-04 missing: Authorities admitted that the prescribed payment acknowledgement had not been issued.

 Fatal procedural lapse: Non-issuance of DRC-04, coupled with failure to consider the representation, rendered the orders unsustainable.

Refund ordered: Four orders dated 27 March 2024 were set aside; inspection payments for FY 2020–21 to 2023–24 must be refunded within eight weeks of receipt of the judgment.

Manual appeal permitted: The petitioner could file an appeal manually within twelve weeks of receiving the judgment, if desired.

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Best Regards,

CA Praveen Sharma

Mob. No. +91-98715 30610