Sebastian Jose vs. The State Of Kerala
Held
The Court held that the specific terms of the NIT and BoQ, which excluded GST from the quoted rates, governed the contract. It ruled that the petitioner was not bound to include GST in the bid and directed the employer (respondents 2 and 3) to pay the GST component against the bills raised by the petitioner.
Facts
The petitioner's tender for a bridge construction work was accepted based on a Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) and Bill of Quantities (BoQ) that explicitly stated quoted rates should be 'except Goods and service Tax (GST)' or 'without taxes'. After the work, the respondents refused to pay the GST component, claiming it was included in the estimate, and rejected the petitioner's claim.
Key Issues
The key legal issue was the interpretation of the tender document's clause regarding the inclusion of Goods and Service Tax (GST) in the bid amount and the employer's subsequent liability to pay the GST component separately.
Sections Cited
None
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Heard together (2 matters)
Read from the judgment's own cause title. This page is filed under one of them.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BECHU KURIAN THOMAS MONDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2021 / 22ND BHADRA, 1943 WP(C) NO. 11662 OF 2021 PETITIONER: SEBASTIAN JOSE AGED 38 YEARS S/O.KP JOSE, RESIDING AT KOORAN KALLUKARAN HOUSE, PULLIYANAM POST, ANGAMALY, ERNAKULAM – 682 017. BY ADVS. SRI.SANTHOSH MATHEW SRI.ARUN THOMAS SRI.JENNIS STEPHEN SRI.VIJAY V. PAUL KARTHIKA MARIA SRI.ANIL DEPASTIAN PULICKEL SRI.ABI BENNY AREECKAL RESPONDENTS: 1 THE STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, PUBLIC WORK DEPARTMENT, ROAD AND BRIDGES ADMINISTRATION, GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, TRIVANDRUM – 695 001. 2 THE KERALA LAND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED TC 11/570, MUSEUM BAINS COMPOUND, KOWDIAR P.O., TRIVANDRUM – 695 003, REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR. 3 THE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER KLDC LTD, THRISSUR, 28/725, CHEMBUKAVU, NEAR RAMA NILAYAM, THRISSUR – 680 020. 4 NATIONAL BANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT PLOT C-24, G BLOCK, BANDRA KURLA COMPLEX, BKC ROAD, BANDRA EAST, MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA – 400 051, REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR. BY ADV SRI. G. BAIJURAJ THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 13.09.2
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