M/S Nikitha Buildtech (P) LTD vs. Union Of INDIA
Held
The Court held that the writ petition had become infructuous. This was because an Order in Original was passed on 05.03.2021, which the Court found arguably constituted a separate cause of action distinct from the one on which the writ petition was originally structured. Therefore, the Court did not proceed to quash the impugned order or declare the petitioner eligible for the scheme's benefits. Instead, the Court reserved liberty for the petitioner to lay a challenge to the subsequent Order in Original, in accordance with law. To facilitate this, the respondents were directed not to take any precipitative action pursuant to the 05.03.2021 order for a period of four weeks. All contentions were kept open.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s Nikitha Buildtech (P) Ltd, filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court challenging an order dated 06.05.2020 passed by the 4th respondent, the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax, designated committee under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019. The petitioner sought to quash this order and to be declared eligible for the benefits under the said scheme. The respondents included various authorities from the Union of India and the Central Tax department. The writ petition was filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India.
Key Issues
1. Whether the writ petition has become infructuous due to the passing of an Order in Original on 05.03.2021, which arguably constitutes a separate cause of action distinct from the one on which the writ petition was structured? The petitioner's contention, as implicitly understood from the court's order, is that the subsequent Order in Original might offer a different avenue for challenge. The revenue's contention, as reflected in the court's finding, is that the subsequent order indeed renders the current writ petition infructuous. The court had to decide if the new order superseded the grounds for the writ petition, thereby making it unnecessary to adjudicate the original challenge.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 25TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2021
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KRISHNA S.DIXIT
WRIT PETITION NO. 8051 OF 2021(T-RES)
BETWEEN:
M/S NIKITHA BUILDTECH (P) LTD NO.602, 6TH FLOOR, BRIGADE RUBIX NO.20, HMT CAMPUS ROAD, YESHWANTHPUR, BENGALURU-560 022. REP BY MANAGING DIRECTOR. SHRI ASHOK R KULKARNI.
...PETITIONER (BY SRI. ASHOK A DESHPANDE, ADVOCATE)
AND:
UNION OF INDIA, REP BY UNION SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, NEW DELHI-110 001. 2. THE COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAX BENGALURU NORTH WEST GST COMMISSIONERATE, 2ND FLOOR, SOUTH WING, BMTC COMPLEX, SHIVAJINAGAR, BENGALURU-560 051. 3. DESIGNATED COMMITTEE UINDER SABKA VISHWAS (LEGACY DISPUTE RESOLUTION) SCHEME 2019, 2ND FLOOR, SOUTH WING, BMTC COMPLEX, SHIVAJINAGAR, BENGALURU-560 051. 4. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAX DESIGNATED COMMITTEE UNDER SABKA VISHWAS (LEGACY DISPUTE RESOLUTION) SCHEME-2019 2ND FLOOR, SOUTH WING, BMTC COMPLEX, SHIVAJINAGAR, BENGALURU-560 051. 2
THE JOINT COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAX BENGALURU NORTH WEST GST COMMISSIONERATE 2ND FLOOR, SOUTH WI
The judgment continues below.
Read the full judgment
A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.
The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.
Reproduced from the public record of the Karnataka High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.