S.Sivaprasad vs. The Managing Director, Kerala Water Authority
Held
The High Court directed the Managing Director of the Kerala Water Authority to consider the petitioner's representations for GST reimbursement, in light of its own circular (Ext.P2), within one month and to abide by that decision within three weeks thereafter. The Court deprecated KWA's practice of compelling contractors to approach the court for adherence to its own circulars.
Facts
A contractor sought reimbursement of GST amounting to Rs.10,31,223.72/- from the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) for work undertaken. The petitioner's claim was based on a KWA circular (Ext.P2) which stated that KWA would absorb GST paid by contractors for works tendered before GST implementation, upon production of payment receipts.
Key Issues
The key legal issue was whether the Kerala Water Authority was obligated to reimburse GST paid by a contractor based on its internal circular, and if the contractor was entitled to a judicial direction for such reimbursement.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BECHU KURIAN THOMAS MONDAY, THE 6TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2021 / 15TH BHADRA, 1943 WP(C) NO. 13858 OF 2021 PETITIONER: S.SIVAPRASAD, AGED 55 YEARS S/O.SOMAN.P., KRISHNAMOORTHY VILLA, THETTAMALA P.O., KOLLAM-20. BY ADV SAJU J PANICKER RESPONDENTS: 1 THE MANAGING DIRECTOR, KERALA WATER AUTHORITY, JALABHAVAN, VELLAYAMBALAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-33. 2 THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, KERALA WATER AUTHORITY, P.H.CIRCLE, KOLLAM. 3 THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PROJECT DIVISION, KERALA WATER AUTHORITY, KOLLAM. BY ADV SHRI.P.BENJAMIN PAUL, SC, KERALA WATER AUTHORITY THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 06.09.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 13858 OF 2021 2 BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J. ---------------------------------------- WP(C) No. 13858 of 2021 ---------------------------------------- Dated this the 6th day of September, 2021 JUDGMENT The writ petition is filed seeking a direction to the respondents to reimburse an amount of Rs.10,31,223.72/- paid by the petitioner as GST in connection with the work undertaken by the petitioner. Petitioner is a contractor who had undert
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