Biswa Nath Samanta vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.

Held

The Court noted that the petitioner had preferred a statutory appeal before the CGST Appellate Tribunal against the order of the first Appellate Authority. Consequently, the Court found that the present writ petition had become infructuous. The Court did not rule on the merits of the petitioner's challenge to the invocation of Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, as the pendency of the statutory appeal rendered the writ petition unnecessary. The Court's decision was based on the procedural development of the case, specifically the filing of the appeal before the Tribunal.

Facts

The petitioner, Biswa Nath Samanta, challenged an order dated February 5, 2026, passed by respondent no. 3, which was subsequently affirmed by the first Appellate Authority. The petitioner contended that the impugned order was passed illegally and arbitrarily under Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, without conclusively establishing fraud, willful misstatement, or suppression of facts to evade tax. The petitioner stated that a statutory appeal had been preferred before the CGST Appellate Tribunal against the order of the first Appellate Authority.

Key Issues

1. Whether the impugned order dated February 5, 2026, passed under Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, is illegal and arbitrary due to the alleged lack of conclusive evidence of fraud, willful misstatement, or suppression of facts to evade tax. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the invocation of Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, was unjustified as the authorities failed to conclusively establish the necessary ingredients of fraud, willful misstatement, or suppression of facts required for invoking this provision. Revenue's contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the CGST Authority regarding the petitioner's contention on the invocation of Section 74.