JSA Advocates & Solicitors provided relief to Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd. before the Gauhati High Court in a significant ruling concerning the interpretation of provisions under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act).
The Gauhati High Court held that the scrutiny procedure prescribed under Section 61 of the CGST Act must be mandatorily followed in cases where show cause notices are issued under Sections 73 or 74 due to discrepancies in returns. The Court further observed that the mandate of Section 61 is a necessary pre-condition to invoke jurisdiction under Sections 73 and 74.
The Court also upheld Pepsico’s contention that furnishing information in Table 14 of Form GSTR-9C was optional — which was the genesis of the dispute — and noted that the Revenue Department failed to demonstrate anything to the contrary.
The JSA team was led by Partner Manish Mishra, with support from Partner Shareen Gupta, Principal Associates, Joybrata Misra and Ruchita Modi, and Senior Associate Tanay Vyas.
Manish has more than 23 years of experience in Indirect taxation across Industry, Consulting and law firms.