M/S. Akhil Sai Cotton Traders vs. Assistant Commissioner Of Central Tax
Held
The High Court dismissed the writ petition. The Court noted that the petitioner admitted receiving the impugned order on September 2, 2023, but filed the writ petition on September 5, 2023, which was more than seven months after the order was passed. The Court found this delay to be excessive and stated that the petitioner had not availed the alternative statutory remedy available under the law, nor had they approached the writ court promptly. Consequently, the Court was not inclined to entertain the writ petition at such a belated stage. The Court explicitly reserved the petitioner's right to avail the statutory remedy available to them under the statute. No other issues were decided.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s. Akhil Sai Cotton Traders, filed a writ petition before the Telangana High Court challenging an order dated February 28, 2023, passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax, Khammam GST Division. The petitioner admitted to receiving a copy of the impugned order on September 2, 2023. However, the writ petition was filed on September 5, 2023, more than seven months after the order was passed. The petitioner sought to declare the order illegal and unauthorized and prayed for a stay on the collection of disputed CGST and TGST amounts, along with penalties and interest. The respondents included the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax, the Union of India through the Ministry of Finance, and the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes.
Key Issues
1. Whether the writ petition filed by the petitioner is maintainable given the delay in filing and the availability of an alternative statutory remedy under the GST Act. The petitioner's contention was not explicitly recorded in terms of arguments presented to the court. However, by filing the writ petition, the petitioner implicitly argued that the impugned order was illegal and unauthorized, warranting extraordinary jurisdiction. The petitioner also sought a stay on the recovery of dues, suggesting a grievance with the demand itself. The respondents, through their counsel, implicitly argued that the writ petition was not maintainable due to the significant delay in filing and the existence of a statutory appeal mechanism. They would have contended that the petitioner failed to exhaust the available remedies promptly, thus disentitling them to equitable relief under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
Sections Cited
Section 50
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
[ 3386 ] HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE SIXTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P.SAM KOSHY AND THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE LAXMI NARAYANA AL]SHETTY WRIT PETITI ON NO: 24809 oF 2023 AND 1 2 J Between: M/s. Akhil Sai Cotton Traders, H.No.3-6-137, Pumping Well Road, Khammam-507003, Telangana. Rep. by its Proprietor Godavarthi Ramarao ...PETITIONER Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax, Khammam GST Division, H.No.15- 13-154, Sthapathi Vijaya Ragha Towers, Bank Colony, Khammam-507002 Union of lndih, reprdsented by The Secretary, Ministry of Finance, No.136-4, North Block, New Delhi.
Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, C.T. Complex, OPP. Gandhi Bhvan, 'Nampalli, Hyderabad-500001 ...RES.ONDENTS Petitiori under Article 226 of the Constitution of lndia praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or Direction more particularly in the nature of MANDAMUS declaring the action of the 1st Respondent in passing the impugned order dated 28.2.2023 as illegal and unauthorized and in addition i
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 Telangana High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.