M/s NEO CLASSIC CRUISE AND TOURS (P) LTD v. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (INTELLIGENCE) & ORS.

Introduction

This judgment of the Kerala High Court reiterates the principle that disputed questions relating to the invocation of Section 74 of the CGST Act—particularly whether there was fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts—are matters to be examined by the statutory appellate authority and not in writ proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution. The Court held that where the adjudicating authority has recorded specific reasons for invoking Section 74, the correctness of those findings cannot be adjudicated in writ jurisdiction.

The Court further observed that an order passed under Section 74 is appealable under Section 107 of the CGST Act, and therefore, the taxpayer must ordinarily exhaust the statutory remedy instead of directly invoking the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.