M/S Balaji Shipping vs. Union Of INDIA

CW/9186/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02047211202431 May 2024Bench: MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA,BHUWAN GOYAL2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Balaji Shipping, through its proprietor Mr. Deepak Kumar Sharma, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court. The respondents were the Union of India (Assistant Commissioner, CGST), the Additional Commissioner (Appeals), CGST, and the State of Rajasthan (Chief Commissioner, Commercial Tax Department). The petition was filed due to the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal, which prevented the petitioner from availing the statutory appellate remedy. The respondents, acknowledging the ongoing process of Tribunal constitution, suggested disposing of the petition with liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal within a stipulated period after the Tribunal is constituted, subject to compliance with Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner agreed to this arrangement.

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition. It directed that if the petitioner makes the payment as stipulated in Sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, no further proceedings shall be drawn for the recovery of the balance amount. This relief is contingent upon the petitioner availing the statutory remedy of appeal within a period of three months from the date the Tribunal is constituted. The Court did not decide on the merits of the underlying GST dispute, as the matter was resolved based on the procedural circumstance of the Tribunal's non-constitution and the parties' agreement.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be entertained and kept pending in light of the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal, or if it should be disposed of with liberty to file an appeal upon constitution of the Tribunal, considering the provisions of Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner agreed to the disposal of the petition on the condition proposed by the respondents. Respondents' Contention: The respondents argued that since the Tribunal is not yet constituted, the petition should not be kept pending. They proposed that the petition be disposed of with appropriate protection under Section 112(8) of the Act, allowing the petitioner to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the date of the Tribunal's constitution. They relied on a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by the Government of Rajasthan, Finance Department (Tax Division).

Sections Cited

Section 112(8)

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

[2024:RJ-JP:26263-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 9186/2024 M/s Balaji Shipping, Flat No. C-20, Third Floor, SRS Building, Jaipur Ajmer By Pass Road, Madanganj, Kishangarh, Rajasthan- 305801 Through Its Proprietor Mr. Deepak Kumar Sharma, S/o Ramesh Chand Sharma, Aged About 31 Years, Prabhu Niwas Bhandari Mohalla Old City Kishangarh Ajmer Rajasthan -305802. ----Petitioner Versus 1. Union of India, Through The Assistant Commissioner, CGST Division-K, Central Revenue Building, Opp. Session Court, Jaipur Road, Ajmer-305001. 2. The Additional Commissioner, (Appeals), CGST, NCRB, Statue Circle, Jaipur-302005. 3. State of Rajasthan, Through The Chief Commissioner, Commerical Tax Department, Kar Bhawan, Ambedkar Circle, Jaipur-302004. ----Respondents For Petitioner : Mr. Ravi Gupta Advocate. For Respondent No. 1 For Respondent No. 2 and 3 : : Mr. Sandeep Pathak Advocate. Mr. Bharat Vyas Additional Advocate General with Ms. Pratyushi Mehta Advocate. HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BHUWAN GOYAL

Order 31/05/2024

Mr. Sandeep Pathak, learned counsel, on advance copy, appears on behalf of Respondent No. 1. 2. Mr. Bharat Vyas, learned Additional Advocate General, on advance copy, appears on behalf of Respondents No. 2 and 3. [2024:RJ-JP:26263-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-9186/2024]

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 have 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, this 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 their submission, learned counsel for the respondents placed 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 petitioner avails statutory remedy of appeal within a period of three months from the date of the constitution of the Tribunal. (BHUWAN GOYAL),J (MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA),CJ MANOJ NARWANI/PAYAL/30

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.