M/S Rajasthan Khadi Gramodhyog Sansthan Sangh vs. State Of Rajasthan

Held

The Court held that since the GST Tribunal has been constituted under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017, an equally efficacious remedy is now available to the petitioners. Consequently, the High Court was not inclined to exercise its extraordinary writ jurisdiction. The Court decided to remand all the matters to the learned GST Tribunal for adjudication on merit. All issues and contentions raised in the various writ petitions were expressly kept open to be decided by the Tribunal. The time taken by the petitioners in pursuing the writ remedy before the High Court would not be computed for the purposes of limitation when approaching the Tribunal, provided they do so within 30 days of the order being uploaded.

Facts

Multiple writ petitions were filed before the Rajasthan High Court challenging various orders and actions passed by GST authorities. The petitioners included companies and individuals involved in different business sectors. The specific tax periods and amounts in dispute are not detailed in the provided text. The procedural history indicates that these matters were pending before the High Court for adjudication.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Rajasthan High Court should exercise its extraordinary writ jurisdiction in light of the constitution of the GST Tribunal. Petitioner's contention: The petitioners had approached the High Court seeking redressal of their grievances, implying that the writ jurisdiction was appropriate. They likely argued that the issues raised were substantial and required immediate intervention. Respondent's contention: The respondent authorities likely argued that with the constitution of the GST Tribunal, an equally efficacious alternative remedy was now available, and therefore, the High Court should not entertain the writ petitions. They would have pointed to Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017, which provides for the establishment of the Tribunal.