M/S Ramesh And Brothers vs. Union Of INDIA

CW/7543/2025HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02040379202520 May 2025Bench: AVNEESH JHINGAN,MUKESH RAJPUROHIT (V. J.)3 pages

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Facts

The petitioner, M/s Ramesh And Brothers, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur challenging an order dated 11.11.2024. A significant grievance raised by the petitioner was that they were left without a remedy because the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal (GSTT) had not become functional since the implementation of GST in 2017. The petitioner relied on a previous order of the same court dated 15.02.2024, which had disposed of a similar writ petition. In that prior case, the respondents had agreed to the petition not being kept pending, provided the petitioner made payment as per Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, with liberty to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the Tribunal's constitution.

Held

The Court held that the petitioner is indeed facing a procedural impediment due to the non-functional status of the GST Tribunal. Following the precedent set by its own order in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024, the Court decided to dispose of the present writ petition. The operative directions are that the petitioner must deposit the amount as per the provisions of Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, within six weeks from the date of the order. Furthermore, if the petitioner files an appeal within three months from the date the Tribunal is constituted, such an appeal shall be considered to have been filed within the limitation period. The petitioner will also be at liberty to request an early disposal of their appeal, which shall be considered in accordance with law. The Court did not expressly leave any issue undecided.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is remediless due to the non-functional status of the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal, and if so, what interim protection or procedural relief should be granted, considering the provisions of Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? The petitioner argued that the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal renders the statutory appellate remedy unavailable, leaving them without recourse. They relied on the principle established in a previous order of the same court (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024) and a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by the Government of Rajasthan, Finance Department (Tax Division), which suggested a path forward in such circumstances. The respondents, represented by the Union of India and the State of Rajasthan, acknowledged that the Tribunal was not yet constituted. They agreed to the disposal of the petition on the condition that the petitioner complies with Section 112(8) of the Act and is granted liberty to file an appeal within a specified period from the Tribunal's constitution.

Sections Cited

Section 112(8)

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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

[2025:RJ-JP:21315-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 7543/2025 M/s Ramesh And Brothers, 5, Nyama Gate, Krishna Market, Laxmangarh, Sikar, Rajasthan, 332311 Through Its Proprietor Mr. Ramesh Agarwal S/o Shiv Dayal Agarwal ----Petitioner Versus 1. Union Of India, Through Finance Secretary, Ministry Of Finance, Government Of India, New Delhi. 2. The State Of Rajasthan, Through Chief Commissioner, State Goods And Service Tax, Kar Bhawan, Ambedkar Circle, Jaipur. 3. The Principal Commissioner, Central Goods And Services Tax, Statue Circle, C Scheme, Jaipur. 4. The Superintendent, Cgst Range-31, Sector-C, Todi Nagar, Sanwali Road, Sikar. ----Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Pankaj Ghiya with Ms. Paridhi Jain & Mr. Mayank Vyas For Respondent(s) : Mr. Sumit Teterwal with Mr. Kshitiz Sharma Mr. Kartikeya Sharma for Mr. Sandeep Taneja, AAG HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AVNEESH JHINGAN HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MUKESH RAJPUROHIT

Order 20/05/2025

The writ petition is filed seeking quashing of impugned order dated 11.11.2024. 2. One of the grievance raised is that the petitioner has been left remediless as the Goods and Service Tax Tribunal (for short

[2025:RJ-JP:21315-DB] (2 of 3) [CW-7543/2025] ‘the tribunal’) is not functional till date inspite of implementation of the GST in 2017. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner relies upon the order dated 15.02.2024 passed by this Court while disposing of D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024 with the following directions:- “Though the matter comes up for admission today, with the consent of the parties, the petition is being disposed of finally. At the outset, learned counsel for the respondents has submitted that at present the Tribunal has not been constituted and the process towards constitution of the Tribunal is going on, therefore, in these circumstances, the petition may not be kept pending but with appropriate protection available under Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax, 2017 (for short ‘the Act’), this petition may be disposed off with liberty to the petitioner to file appeal within stipulated period from the date the Tribunal is constituted. In support of his submission, he places reliance upon a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by Government of Rajasthan Finance Department (Tax Division).

Learned counsel for the petitioner agrees to the disposal of the petition on the aforesaid condition.

Accordingly, this petition, at this stage, is disposed off with a direction that in case petitioner makes payment as per provisions contained in Sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the Act, further proceedings shall not be drawn for recovery of the balance amount, provided that the

[2025:RJ-JP:21315-DB] (3 of 3) [CW-7543/2025] petitioner avails statutory remedy of appeal within a period of three months from the date of the constitution of the Tribunal.”

The petition is disposed of in the same terms. Let the petitioner deposit the amount as per the provisions of Section 112(8) of the Act within six weeks from today.

Considering that as on date the tribunal is not functional, in the eventuality of the petitioner filing an appeal within three months from the date of constitution of the tribunal, the same shall be considered to have been filed within limitation. Thereafter, the petitioner shall be at liberty to make a request for early disposal of the appeal and the same shall be considered in accordance with law. (MUKESH RAJPUROHIT),J (AVNEESH JHINGAN),J DIKSHA MISHRA /19

Reproduced from the public record of the Rajasthan High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.