Equal treatment to unequals is nothing but inequality..!

Equal treatment to unequals is nothing but inequality..!

Newly introduced S.4A replaces the timelines in S.73 and S.74. Starting from FY 2024-25, the new timeline will be 42 months from either the due date for furnishing the annual return or from the date of the erroneous refund

1. Equals must be treated equally while unequals need to be treated differently. Equality is a fundamental feature to the Indian Constitution.

Supreme Court in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India

AIR 2022 SC (Supp) 1

Note: This judgment was by the 5 Judges bench.

2. Taxation - Purpose is not only to raise revenue - It is also a means to reduce inequalities.

Supreme Court in Sri Srinivasa Theatre vs Government of Tamil Nadu

AIR 1992 SC 999?

3. Two unequals cannot be treated as equals.

Supreme Court in Haji Abdul Gani Khan vs Union of India

AIR Online 2023 SC 107

4. Principle of negative equality is not incorporated in Constitution of India. If there has been a benefit or advantage conferred on one or a set of people, without legal basis or justification, that benefit cannot multiply or be relied upon as a principle of parity or equality.

Supreme Court in R. MUTHUKUMAR v. CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR TANGEDCO

AIR Online 2022 SC 91 :: 2022 LAB I.C. 4342

5. Unequal treatment to equals would be violative of Article 14-But unequals cannot be treated equally-Equal treatment to unequals would also violate Article 14.?

?

Supreme Court in Management of Coimbatore District Central Co-operative Bank vs. Secretary, Coimbatore District Central Co-operative Bank Employees Association.

MANU/SC/2117/2007

Conclusion:

In my opinion, timelines for regular cases and fraud cases should be different, with extended time for fraud cases. This approach was followed in earlier IDT laws and was prevalent in GST laws as well. Section 74A treats unequals as equals.

Hope this series will help you.

Raja Abhishek

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