The Calcutta High Court has held that a service which was rendered and completed in the year 2015 — well before the GST regime came into force on 01.07.2017 — cannot be subjected to GST merely because the bill was raised in February 2019 and post-facto approval was granted in February 2018. The ruling by Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee in WPA 5150 of 2022 (M/s Goutam Engineering Concern, decided 14.09.2026) directs WBSEDCL to release payment of Rs. 19,91,148 with interest at 8% per annum from the date of submission of the bill.
The petitioner, an erection contractor, had deployed technical personnel for repair and maintenance of electrical feeder lines for WBSEDCL during the period 01.01.2015 to 31.12.2015. Post-facto approval was granted on 26.02.2018 and the bill was submitted on 22.02.2019. WBSEDCL withheld payment on the ground that the petitioner had not completed GST registration formalities and that GST liability would arise. The court applied Section 142(11)(b) of the GST Act, which specifically provides that notwithstanding Section 13 (time of supply for services), no tax shall be payable under the GST Act to the extent the tax was leviable under the erstwhile Service Tax regime. This was further supported by the West Bengal Finance Department's Memorandum No. 5050-F(Y) dated 16.08.2017, which clarified that where services were supplied before 01.07.2017 but the bill was raised after that date beyond 30 days from the date of supply, Service Tax — and not GST — would apply. The post-facto approval merely regularised work already performed and could not alter the date of supply or bring the completed service within the GST regime.
- 2026-juristway.com-2490-HC(Calcutta)-GST | High Court of Calcutta | WPA 5150 of 2022 | 14.09.2026