The Holy Decorators vs. The Assistant Commissioner Of State Tax And Ors.

Held

The Court held that the writ petition should be disposed of with the observation that the petitioner can prefer an appeal before the GSTAT Kolkata under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017/WBGST Act, 2017. The Court granted the petitioner four weeks' time to file this appeal. The Court also implicitly accepted the petitioner's request to exclude the period during which the writ petition was pending for computing the limitation period for filing the appeal. The specific reasoning for this disposal, beyond the functionality of the Tribunal, is not elaborated. No issues were expressly left undecided.

Facts

The petitioner, The Holy Decorators, filed a writ petition before the High Court at Calcutta. The petitioner's grievance pertains to an order or action passed by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Bureau of Investigation, (South Bengal) Head Quarters & Ors. The specific tax period and the amount in dispute are not recorded in the provided text. The procedural history leading to the writ petition is not detailed, other than the filing of the writ petition itself.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be transferred to the Appellate Tribunal, given its constitution and functionality, for the petitioner to prefer an appeal under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017/WBGST Act, 2017. 2. Whether the period during which the writ petition has been pending before the High Court should be excluded for the purpose of computing the limitation period for filing an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal. The petitioner argued that since the Appellate Tribunal is now functional, the writ petition should be transferred to it, and they should be granted four weeks to file an appeal. They also sought exclusion of the pending period for limitation. The State respondents' arguments are not recorded in the provided text.