Abhay Kumar Jaiswal vs. The State Of West Bengal And Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, Abhay Kumar Jaiswal, filed a writ petition challenging the procedure followed by the revenue authorities. The CGST & CX authorities, represented by Mr. Banerjee, submitted that a summary of the show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 was issued on August 9, 2024, and a corrigendum to a notice dated April 24, 2024, was issued on August 12, 2024. They admitted that no notice in Form GST DRC-01A had been issued. The petitioner sought a proper pre-show cause notice procedure.
Held
The Court held that the show cause notice dated April 24, 2024, along with the summary of show cause notice dated August 9, 2024, issued in Form GST DRC-01, should be treated as a notice in Form GST DRC-01A. This decision was based on the understanding that Rule 142(1A) of the CGST/WBGST Rules, 2017, mandates the issuance of a pre-show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01A before a show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01. The Court reasoned that by treating the existing notices as DRC-01A, the procedural requirement would be met, allowing the petitioner to respond. The petitioner was granted liberty to file a response to the show cause notice (treated as DRC-01A) within two weeks. The Court made it clear that this order would not impede the respondents from proceeding further in accordance with law.
Key Issues
1. Whether the notice dated April 24, 2024, along with the summary of show cause notice dated August 9, 2024, issued in Form GST DRC-01, can be treated as a pre-show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01A, as contemplated by Rule 142(1A) of the CGST/WBGST Rules, 2017? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the revenue authorities failed to follow the mandatory pre-show cause notice procedure as stipulated by Rule 142(1A) of the CGST/WBGST Rules, 2017, which requires issuance of a notice in Form GST DRC-01A prior to the show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01. Revenue's contention: The CGST & CX authorities submitted that while a formal DRC-01A was not issued, the summary of the show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01, issued on August 9, 2024, along with the corrigendum to the earlier notice, should be considered as fulfilling the intent of the pre-show cause notice requirement.
Sections Cited
Rule 142(1A)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
2024 Item No. AD 4 Saswata
W.P.A. 15270 of 2024 Abhay Kumar Jaiswal versus The State of West Bengal & Ors. Mr. Rishi Raju Mr. Suvranil Saha …For the petitioner Mr. Anirban Ray, Ld. GP Mr. Md. T.M.Siddiqui Mr. T. Chakraborty Mr. S. Sanyal …For the State Mr. Bhaskar Prosad Banerjee Mr. Tapan Bhanja …For the CGST & CX authorities
Mr. Banerjee, learned advocate appearing for the CGST & CX authorities, on instructions, submits that the summary of the show cause notice in Form GST DRC – 01 has, in fact, been issued on 9th August 2024. Subsequently, on 12th August 2024 a corrigendum has also been issued to the show cause notice dated 24th April 2024. He candidly submits that no notice in Form GST DRC – 01A has been issued.
Having regard to the aforesaid, I am of the view that the show cause notice dated 24th April 2024 along with the summary of show cause notice dated 9th August 2024 issued in Form GST DRC – 01 should be treated as a notice in Form GST DRC – 01A, since Rule 142 (1A) of the CGST/WBGST Rules 2017 contemplates issuance of a pre- show cause notice in Form GST DRC – 01A prior to issuance of a show cause in Form GST DRC – 01. 3. The petitioner shall be at liberty to file response to the show cause notice in Form GST DRC – 01, which has been treated to be a pre-show cause notice in Form GST DRC – 01A dated 9th August 2024 within a period of 2 weeks from date.
2
With the above observations and directions, the writ petition being WPA 15270 of 2024 is accordingly disposed of.
It is made clear that this order shall not stand in the way of the respondents for proceeding with the matter in accordance with law.
All parties shall act on the basis of the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the Hon’ble Court’s official website. (Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.)
Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.