M/S.Balaji Sales vs. The Sales Tax Officer, Sambalpur-1 Circle

Held

The Court held that in view of the judgment of the High Court of Orissa dated 1st December, 2021 in SREV No.64 of 2016 (M/s. Keshab Automobiles v. State of Odisha), which has been upheld by the Supreme Court of India by order dated 13th July, 2022 in Special Leave to Appeal (C) No.9912 of 2022 (Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax v. M/s. Rathi Steel and Power Limited), the impugned notices and orders against the petitioner are to be quashed. The reasoning is that the present case is squarely covered by the binding precedent established in the cited cases. The ratio decidendi is that if a matter is decided by a High Court and upheld by the Supreme Court, subsequent similar matters should follow the same principle. The operative direction is that the impugned notices and orders are quashed, and the writ petition is disposed of accordingly.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Balaji Sales, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack challenging certain notices and orders. The specific tax period(s) and the exact nature of the notices and orders, as well as the authority that passed them, are not detailed in the provided judgment excerpt. The amount in dispute is also not stated. The procedural history leading to this writ petition is not elaborated upon, beyond the fact that the petitioner approached the High Court.

Key Issues

1. Whether the impugned notices and orders issued to the petitioner are liable to be quashed in light of the judgment of this Court dated 1st December, 2021 in SREV No.64 of 2016 (M/s. Keshab Automobiles v. State of Odisha), which was upheld by the Supreme Court of India on 13th July, 2022 in Special Leave to Appeal (C) No.9912 of 2022 (Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax v. M/s. Rathi Steel and Power Limited)? The petitioner argued that the impugned notices and orders should be quashed based on the aforementioned High Court and Supreme Court judgments. The revenue or State's specific arguments are not recorded in the provided excerpt. The Court's decision hinges on the applicability of the precedent set in the cited cases.