M/S.Sheik Zakir vs. State Of Orissa
Held
The Court permitted the petitioner to withdraw the writ petition. The petitioner was granted liberty to approach the State Government to address their grievances. The writ petition was accordingly disposed of as withdrawn. No decision was made on the merits of the tax dispute itself, as the petitioner chose to pursue their grievances through administrative channels. The Court did not decide on the legality or applicability of the GST rate to the petitioner's contract.
Facts
The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the levy of Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 18% on a contract, arguing that the Central Sales Tax (CST) was only 2% at the time of auction. The petitioner contended that they should not be subjected to a higher tax rate. During the pendency of the writ petition, the petitioner's contract was terminated. The petitioner then sought permission to withdraw the writ petition to approach the State Government with their grievances.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to be taxed at the rate of 2% CST instead of 18% GST on the contract, considering the tax rate at the time of auction. The petitioner argued that the increased tax rate from 2% CST to 18% GST is detrimental and should not be applied. The revenue or State's arguments are not recorded in the judgment. The petitioner's primary contention revolved around the retrospective application of a higher tax rate.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
W.P.(C) No. 11526 of 2017 04.09.2017 Heard Sri S.K. Dalai, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Sri P.K. Muduli, lea rned Additional Government Advocate for the State-opposite party and Sri S.K. Pattnaik, learne d Senior Counsel appearing along with Sri P.K. Patnaik, learned counsel for opposite party no.
The grievance of the petitioner is that at the time of auction, the Central Sales Tax (C ST) was only 2% whereas after coming into force the GST, the Tax would now be 18%. He is thus stated that the petitioner should not be levied higher rate of tax. It is also contended that during pendency of the writ petition, the contract of the petitioner has been terminated. At t his stage, learned counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner may be permitted to a pproach the State Government with regard to his grievances made in this writ petition. Prayer is allowed. The petitioner is permitted to withdraw this writ petition with liberty to approach the State Government with regard to his grievances made in this writ petition. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of as withdrawn.
The judgment continues below.
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Reproduced from the public record of the Orissa High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.