Vijay Engg. And Electrical Works vs. Union Of INDIA And 2 Others

Held

The Court allowed the review application. It found that the order dated 28.10.2021, which was the subject of the original writ petition, was indeed passed by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) in exercise of jurisdiction under the provisions of the CGST Act, 2017. Therefore, the Union of India was correctly impleaded as a party. The Court noted the admission by the Central Government Standing Counsel that a mistaken belief had led to the previous incorrect statement. Consequently, the Court set aside the order of dismissal of the writ petition and restored it to its original number. The restored writ petition was directed to be placed before the appropriate Bench for further proceedings.

Facts

The petitioner, Vijay Engg. And Electrical Works, filed a review application seeking to recall a previous order dated 14.12.2021, which had dismissed their writ petition (Writ Tax No. 1050 of 2021). The dismissal occurred because the petitioner's counsel, based on a statement by the respondent's counsel, mistakenly believed the State, not the Union of India, was the proper party. The order under challenge in the original writ petition was dated 28.10.2021 and was passed by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals), Meerut, in proceedings under the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017. The petitioner is registered with the CGST Commissionerate, Meerut. The Central Government Standing Counsel acknowledged the previous error, admitting that the Union of India was indeed the correctly impleaded party.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Union of India was the proper party to the writ petition, considering the order under challenge was passed by an authority under the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017? The petitioner argued that the original writ petition was dismissed based on a mistaken statement by the respondent's counsel, who incorrectly identified the State as the proper party. The petitioner contended that the order impugned was passed by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) under the CGST Act, 2017, and that they are registered with the CGST Commissionerate, Meerut, thus making the Union of India the correct party. The revenue (Union of India) conceded that their previous counsel had made a mistaken statement due to a misunderstanding of the annexures to the writ petition. They admitted that the parties impleaded were correct and that the earlier statement was an error.