M/S K L Dosi Medicals vs. Union Of INDIA

CW/9385/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC01041641202422 July 2024Bench: SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR,KULDEEP MATHUR2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

M/s K.L. Dosi Medicals, the petitioner, filed a writ petition challenging a communication dated April 4, 2024, which rejected its online appeal. The petitioner's grievance was that its appeal was not accepted due to non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017. The respondents are the Union of India and various GST authorities. The petitioner's appeal was rejected on two occasions, with the second rejection citing a "strange reason." A notification dated November 2, 2023, mandated a pre-deposit of 12.5% of the total liability for entertaining an appeal under Section 107.

Held

The Court held that the statutory right to appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, cannot be frustrated on mere technicalities. The Court acknowledged the petitioner's grievance that its online appeal was not accepted due to non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement. The Court noted that a notification dated November 2, 2023, mandated a pre-deposit of 12.5% of the total liability as a pre-condition for entertaining an appeal under Section 107. The learned counsel for the petitioner made a statement on instructions that the petitioner-Firm would comply with this requirement. Recording this undertaking, the Court disposed of the writ petition. The petitioner was granted liberty to submit its appeal under Section 107 within 30 days, provided it complied with the 12.5% pre-deposit of the total disputed tax amount. The appeal, if so preferred, shall be entertained.

Key Issues

1. Whether the statutory right to appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, can be frustrated on a mere technicality, specifically the non-acceptance of an online appeal due to alleged non-compliance with pre-deposit requirements? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that its statutory right to appeal was being frustrated by technicalities, and the rejection of its online appeal was unjust. The petitioner, through its counsel, stated that it would comply with the pre-deposit requirement of 12.5% as mandated by the notification dated November 2, 2023. Revenue's contention: The respondents did not explicitly record any arguments in the judgment regarding the petitioner's contention. However, the underlying issue revolved around the compliance with the pre-deposit condition stipulated in Section 107 of the CGST Act and the relevant notification.

Sections Cited

Section 107

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

[2024:RJ-JD:29653-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 9385/2024 M/s K L Dosi Medicals, Situated At 10, Rati Talai Road, Banswara, Rajasthan, 327001 Through Its Proprietor Mrs Doli Doshi W/o Sh Minal Dosi Aged About 46 Years, Resident Of Sabji Mandi Road, Azad Chowk, Banswara . ----Petitioner Versus 1. Union Of India, Through Secretary, Department Of Revenue, Ministry Of Finance, Government Of India, North Block, New Delhi. 2. Goods And Services Tax Council, Through Its Secretary, 5Th Floor, Tower Ii, Jeevan Bharti Building, Janapath Road, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001. 3. CEO GSTN (Goods And Services Tax Network), A Government Enterprise, Worldmark 1, Aerocity, Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi - 110037, India. 4. Commissioner, Central Excise And Cgst Commissionerate, 142-B, Sector-11, Hiran Magri, Udaipur, Raj. 5. Assistant Commissioner, Central Goods And Services Tax, Division D, Chittorgarh. 6. Superintendent, Central Goods And Services Tax, Range Xxx, Rati Talai, Banswara. 7. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Secretary, Department Of Finance, Secretariat, Jaipur. ----Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Sharad Kothari For Respondent(s) : Mr. Mahaveer Bishnoi, AAG Mr. Rajvendra Saraswat Mr. Uttam Singh Rajpurohit for Mr. Mukesh Rajpurohit, Dy.S.G. HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KULDEEP MATHUR

Order 22/07/2024

In this writ petition, M/s. K.L. Dosi Medicals seeks to challenge the communication dated 04th April,2024, whereby the online appeal preferred by the petitioner-Firm was not accepted.

Without going into the facts in details, suffice it shall be to indicate that the statutory right to appeal under Section 107 of

[2024:RJ-JD:29653-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-9385/2024] Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) cannot be frustrated on mere technicality. The grievance of the petitioner- Firm is that the appeal preferred by it was not accepted on the ground that it had failed to comply with the mandatory condition of pre-deposit under section 107 of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and, on the second occasion, a strange reason has been assigned vide Annexure-9 to the writ petition.

This stands admitted at the Bar that vide notification dated 02.11.2023 at page 55 of the paper book a requirement of depositing 12.5% of the total liability has been made a pre- condition for entertaining the appeal under section 107. Mr. Sharad Kothari, the learned counsel for the petitioner makes a statement on instructions from the petitioner-Firm that the petitioner-Firm shall be following the requirement of pre-deposit of 12.5% as mandated under the notification dated 02.11.2023. 4. Recording the undertaking on behalf of the petitioner-Firm, this writ petition stands disposed of with the liberty to the petitioner-Firm to submit its appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act within a period of 30 days. The appeal if so preferred shall be entertained if the petitioner-Firm complies with the requirement of pre-deposit of 12.5% of the total disputed tax amount. (KULDEEP MATHUR),J (SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR),J 27-mohit/-

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.