Sanpak Business Solutions And Trade LLP And Anr. vs. Asst. Com. State Tax, Bureau Of Inv. S. Bengal And Ors.

Facts

The petitioners, Sanpak Business Solutions And Trade LLP & Ors., filed a writ petition alleging non-compliance with a previous court order dated June 14, 2023, and misbehavior by Ms. Chaitali Banerjee, Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Bureau of Investigation, South Bengal. The court had previously directed her personal presence. On July 10, 2023, she was present, and today she filed an unconditional apology in an affidavit. The affidavit also noted that the petitioners did not provide all relevant documents for the disposal of their representation as directed by the court, and instead sent threatening emails. The court found the explanation convincing and accepted the apology, directing adverse remarks against the officer to be ignored for her service record. The court also noted the petitioners' conduct was not appreciable.

Held

The Court held that it was not inclined to interfere with the impugned show-cause notice dated June 23, 2023, under Section 74(1) of the CGST/WBGST Act, 2017, at this stage. The court accepted the unconditional apology of Ms. Chaitali Banerjee, Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Bureau of Investigation, South Bengal, finding her explanation convincing, and directed that any adverse remarks against her be ignored for her service record. The court also noted that the petitioners' conduct in not providing documents and sending threatening emails was not appreciable. The court extended the time for the petitioners to file their reply to the show-cause notice by seven days. Further, the hearing on the show-cause notice was directed to be taken by the Deputy Commissioner of Revenue, Bureau of Investigation, South Bengal, who would pass a reasoned and speaking order within ten days of receiving the response, after providing an opportunity of hearing. The court explicitly stated it had not gone into the merits of the show-cause notice.

Key Issues

1. Whether the court should interfere with the impugned show-cause notice dated June 23, 2023, issued under Section 74(1) of the CGST/WBGST Act, 2017, at this stage? The petitioner sought relief regarding the show-cause notice. The State contended that the court should not interfere at this stage and that the petitioners' conduct in not providing documents and sending threatening emails was not appropriate. The court also had to consider the allegations of misbehavior and non-compliance with previous orders by the Assistant Commissioner.