M/S. Furnico Interior vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.
Held
The Court held that it was not inclined to entertain the writ petition because an alternative remedy by way of appeal before the CEST Appellate Tribunal was available. The Court reasoned that the statutory appeal mechanism should be exhausted before approaching the High Court under its writ jurisdiction. However, the Court granted liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal against the impugned order dated April 12, 2019, before the CEST Appellate Tribunal within three weeks from the date of the order. The Court further directed that if such an appeal is filed within the stipulated time, the CEST Appellate Tribunal should consider the application for condonation of delay with a lenient view, acknowledging the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delay. The writ petition was disposed of with these directions.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s. Furnico Interior, challenged an order dated April 12, 2019, passed by the Commissioner (Appeal), Appeal-1, CGST-CX. The petitioner sought to file a writ petition before the High Court. The respondents, Union of India & Ors., and HIDCO, opposed the writ petition. The respondents contended that the impugned order, passed under service tax, was further appealable before the CEST Appellate Tribunal. The petitioner argued that the time to file an appeal before the CEST Tribunal had expired and that the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly contributed to the delay, warranting consideration.
Key Issues
1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable before this Court when an alternative remedy of appeal before the CEST Appellate Tribunal is available, as argued by the respondents. 2. Whether the delay in filing the appeal before the CEST Appellate Tribunal, attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, should be condoned, as argued by the petitioner. Contentions: Petitioner: Submitted that the time to file an appeal before the CEST Tribunal has expired and that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant delay which should be considered leniently. The petitioner sought to challenge the appellate order dated April 12, 2019. Respondents: Contended that the impugned order of the appellate authority was passed under service tax and is therefore further appealable before the CEST Appellate Tribunal, making the writ petition not maintainable.
Sections Cited
None explicitly mentioned as being discussed in detail, but the context implies provisions related to appeals under service tax and the jurisdiction of the CEST Appellate Tribunal.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
2021. p.b. Sl. No.
W.P.A. 17351 of 2021 (Through Video Conference) M/s. Furnico Interior Vs. Union of India & Ors. Mr. S. Ghosal, Mr. Md. Salamuddin, Mr. Dipta Banerjee, Mr. Joydeep Chatterjee. ……..for the petitioner. Mr. Bhaskar Prasad Banerjee ….. for the respondents Mr. Jishnu Chowdhury Mr. Chayan Gupta Mr. Sandip Dasgupta Mr. S. Siddiqui ………for the HIDCO. Heard learned advocates appearing for the parties. In this matter, petitioner has challenged the impugned order of the appellate authority dated 12th April, 2019 passed by the Commissioner (Appeal), Appeal-1, CGST-CX. Learned advocate for the respondents opposes this writ petition by contending that the impugned order of the appellate authority is further appeallable before the CEST, Appellate Tribunal since the impugned order of the appellate authority has been passed under the service tax. Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that even the time to file appeal before the CEST Tribunal against the impugned appellate order has expired and further submits that it was difficult to file appeal during
2 the COVID-19 which is the largest period of the delay and it should be considered. Considering th
The judgment continues below.
Read the full judgment
A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.
The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.
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.