M/S Shivani Traders vs. The Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court held that Section 16(4) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is constitutionally valid. This decision was reached by respectfully following a previous judgment dated 08.09.2023 passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of the same High Court in CWJC No.9108 of 2021 and other analogous cases. The reasoning behind this holding is that the Co-ordinate Bench had already addressed and answered the question of constitutional validity in favour of the revenue and against the assessee. Therefore, the present writ petition, raising the same issue, was dismissed based on the precedent established by the earlier judgment.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Shivani Traders, through its sole proprietor Manoj Kumar Gupta, filed a writ petition before the Patna High Court challenging the constitutional validity of Section 16(4) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The respondents include the Union of India and various authorities of the State of Bihar. The specific tax period and the amount in dispute are not recorded in the judgment. The procedural history indicates that this writ petition was filed before the High Court.

Key Issues

1. Whether Section 16(4) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is constitutionally valid? The petitioner's contention is not recorded in the judgment. The revenue's contention is that the provision is constitutionally valid. The Court is required to decide on the validity of this provision, which deals with the time limit for availing Input Tax Credit (ITC). The Court's decision hinges on interpreting the scope and applicability of this section within the broader GST framework.