After GST notice, records show Ballia farmer was proprietor of TN firm
Lucknow: Fresh details emerging from official GST records have raised more questions than answers in the case of Ballia farmer Balbir Singh, who recently received a Rs 72.76 lakh GST recovery notice, with documents showing that he was recorded as the proprietor of a Tamil Nadu-based trading firm dealing in bags, shirts and coated garments despite his claim that he never ran any business.
The recovery notice, issued on July 15 by the office of the assistant commissioner of CGST and central excise, Kovilpatti division, seeks recovery of Rs 72,76,478 from Singh. The amount includes tax, interest, penalty and late fee for the period April 2019 to March 2020.
The notice identifies Singh as the proprietor of M/s Mahendra Agency, with its registered address at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. According to the GST show cause notice and subsequent adjudication order, the firm was engaged in trading goods like bags, suitcases and similar carrying cases, woven shirts for men and boys, and coated or rubberised knitted garments.
The documents also describe Mahendra Agency as a proprietorship firm dealing in these goods. GST records show that scrutiny of the firm’s returns for 2019-20 allegedly found wrongful availing of input tax credit worth over Rs 30.12 lakh, short payment of GST and delayed filing of returns.
An early warning intimation was issued on Jan 18, 2024, followed by a show cause notice on May 8, 2024.
The adjudication order says that the taxpayer neither replied to the notices nor appeared for personal hearings fixed on July 9, July 16 and Aug 13, 2024, following which the matter was decided ex parte.
