The Madras High Court has held that the time limit prescribed under Rule 164(6) of the CGST Rules for lodging an application for waiver under Section 128A (the amnesty scheme for waiver of interest and penalty) is a mandatory essential requirement and not merely directory, rejecting the contention that the conditions prescribed in Rule 164 are intended to be directory because the qualifying phrase 'subject to such conditions as may be prescribed' is separated from the rest of Section 128A(1) by a comma. The ruling by Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy in WP No. 31773 of 2026 (Tvl Karthikeya Authentic Andhra Restaurant, decided 19.08.2026) follows the court's own batch decision in Incompressible Fluid Control System v. The Assistant Commissioner (2026:MHC:3296).
The petitioner had discharged the full tax demand on 19.10.2024 — prior to the notified due date under Section 128A — but had not formally filed the waiver application within the prescribed time. It was argued, relying on Mother Superior Adoration Convent (SC) and Sama Alana Abdulla v. State of Gujarat (SC), that the scheme being beneficial in nature, the conditions should be read as directory. The court rejected this, holding that the mere grammatical separation by a comma does not determine whether a condition is directory or mandatory — that question requires engagement with the substance of the prescribed requirements. The amnesty scheme under Section 128A is time-bound with provision for deemed approval, and its time limits either run from the date of filing of the waiver application or are closely linked to it — making the filing deadline an essential, not procedural, requirement.
However, noting that the entire tax demand under the ex parte original order had been fully discharged and revenue interest stood protected, the court set aside the original order on the ground that it warranted another opportunity, and remanded the matter for re-consideration with a fresh order to be passed within five months.
- 2026-juristway.com-2474-HC(Madras)-GST | High Court of Madras | WP No. 31773 of 2026 | 19.08.2026