The Madras High Court and the Calcutta High Court have, in separate proceedings, continued to extend the benefit of the retrospective insertion of Section 16(5) of the CGST Act to taxpayers whose Input Tax Credit had been denied on the ground of belated filing of returns, holding that where the return was filed before the extended cut-off date of 30.11.2021, the ITC cannot be disallowed. The Madras HC rulings by Justice S. Raveekumar in WP No. 29892 of 2023 (S. Saravanan, decided 12.08.2026) and WP No. 20585 of 2022 (Ramesh Chand, decided 18.08.2026), and the Calcutta HC ruling by Justice Smita Das De in WPA 19240 of 2024 (Manash Ghosh, decided 10.09.2026), all follow the now-settled position flowing from the Finance (No.2) Act, 2024, and the respective courts’ own earlier decisions.

The factual matrix in each case was substantially similar. The petitioners had filed their GST returns for periods falling within FY 2017-18 to 2020-21 with delays beyond the due dates prescribed under Section 16(4), and the department had denied ITC on the ground of limitation. However, in each case the returns had been filed well before 30.11.2021. Following the retrospective insertion of sub-sections (5) and (6) to Section 16 by the Finance (No.2) Act, 2024 (Act 15 of 2024) with effect from 01.07.2017 — which provided that registered persons shall be entitled to take ITC in any return under Section 39 filed up to 30.11.2021 for invoices pertaining to FY 2017-18 to 2020-21 — the petitioners sought quashing of the demand orders.

In the Madras HC proceedings, the Revenue through the Additional Government Pleader did not dispute the legal position. Both orders followed the court’s own detailed decision in Sri Ganapathi Pandi Industries v. The Assistant Commissioner (State Tax) (W.P. No. 25081 of 2024 etc. batch, dated 17.10.2024). In the Calcutta HC, the court followed its Co-ordinate Bench decision in Hiranmoy Dutta v. State of West Bengal [2025] 172 taxmann.com 750 (Calcutta), which had held that the amendment is curative and retrospective, and once returns are filed by 30.11.2021, the ITC for the relevant financial years stands regularised.

In all three cases, the impugned orders were quashed, recovery proceedings were restrained, and any amounts already recovered from the petitioners were directed to be refunded or adjusted towards future tax liability. The Calcutta HC additionally directed re-adjudication by the Joint Commissioner within six weeks after verifying the date of filing of GSTR-3B.

- 2026-juristway.com-1225-HC(Madras)-GST; 1227-HC(Madras)-GST; 2463-HC(Calcutta)-GST  |  High Court of Madras & High Court of Calcutta  |  Multiple Writ Petitions  |  August–September 2026