Summary
- The Madras High Court has quashed GST assessment orders against wholesale dealers, ruling that Section 74 of the CGST Act does not authorize best-judgment assessments based on limited sales data.
- The court emphasized that taxation powers require a clear statutory basis, rejecting extrapolation of short-period data without supporting evidence.
- While the request for cross-examination was denied, the court found no prejudice to the petitioners as they admitted the authenticity of the retrieved data.
- This ruling underscores the need for strict adherence to statutory provisions in tax assessments, leaving assessees at risk of prosecution for non-compliance with record-keeping obligations.
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