M/S Wardwizard Innovations And Mobility Limited vs. Commissioner, SGST
Original PDF →Facts
M/s Wardwizard Innovations and Mobility Limited (the petitioner) filed an application for GST registration under Section 25(1) of the CGST/GGST Act, which was rejected by the Commercial Tax Officer (Respondent No. 2) for failing to explain discrepancies in submitted documents. The petitioner appealed this rejection to the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), who allowed the appeal, setting aside the rejection order and directing the activation of the GST application and issuance of a registration certificate as per Section 25 and Rule 10. The petitioner's grievance in this writ application is that Respondent No. 2 has failed to give effect to the appellate authority's order.
Held
The Court allowed the writ application, directing Respondent No. 2 to give effect to the order passed by the Appellate Authority dated 17.06.2020 at the earliest. The Court also directed that all consequential benefits available to the writ-applicant for the interregnum period should be granted in accordance with law. The Court emphasized that registered dealers should not face difficulties in implementing appellate orders due to technical glitches, and such issues should be resolved promptly by GSTN. The petitioner's prayer for the GST registration certificate to be issued with effect from 31.03.2020 and for the transfer of Input Tax Credit was not explicitly addressed in the final operative directions, but the general direction to grant consequential benefits implies these would be considered. The Court did not leave any issue expressly undecided.
Key Issues
1. Whether the Respondent No. 2 is obligated to give effect to the order passed by the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) dated 17.06.2020, directing the activation of the petitioner's GST registration application and issuance of a certificate, as per Section 25 of the CGST/GGST Act and Rule 10? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that despite succeeding in appeal, Respondent No. 2 has not implemented the appellate authority's order, causing them prejudice. They sought a mandamus to compel Respondent No. 2 to give effect to the order and issue the GST registration certificate with retrospective effect from 31.03.2020, and to transfer eligible Input Tax Credit to the new GST number. Revenue's Contention: The learned AGP for Respondent No. 2 expressed apprehension that Respondent No. 2 might face technical difficulties in implementing the appellate order. The GSTN (Respondent No. 3) was also involved, with the court noting that technical glitches are within their control.
Sections Cited
Section 25, Rule 10, Section 107
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA)
By this writ-application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ-applicant has prayed for the following reliefs:- “26(a) To issue writ of or in the nature of a mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to Respondent No.2 to give effect to the order in Appeal passed by the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) and in case there is any technical difficulty being faced then direction for Respondent no.3 to provide technical assistance in giving effect to the order of appeal. (b) To issue writ of or in nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to respondent no.2 to issue GST registration certificate in accordance with Section-25 of CGST/GGST Act with effect from 31.03.2020. (c) To issue writ of or in nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to Respondents to transfer the eligible Input Tax Credit of petitioner to his New GST C/SCA/12954/2021 ORDER DATED: 10/02/2022 Number. (d) To issue order(s), direction(s), writ(s) or any other relief(s) as this Hon’ble Court deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice. (e) To award costs of and incidental to this application be paid by the respondent;”
We heard Mr. Poddar, the learned counsel appearing for the writ-applicant; Mr. Priyank Lodha, the learned standing counsel appearing for the respondent no.3 – GSTN and Mr. Utkarsh Sharma, the learned AGP appearing for the respondent no.2 – Commercial Tax Officer.
It appears from the materials on record that the application filed by the writ-applicant for registration under the C.G.S.T.Act and G.S.T. Act, 2017 respectively filed under Section 25(1) of the Act came to be rejected by the respondent no.2 herein essentially on the ground that the writ-applicant failed to offer any explanation
as regards the discrepancies in the documents submitted by the writ-applicant.
Being dissatisfied with the order passed by the respondent no.2 herein, an appeal was filed by the writ-applicant under Section-107 of the Act before the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Appeal-5, Vadodara.
The Appellate Authority after due consideration of all the relevant aspects of the matter allowed the appeal of the writ- applicant. The operative part of the order reads thus:- C/SCA/12954/2021 ORDER DATED: 10/02/2022 ORDER “The first appeal no.05 of 2020 is allowed in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The above mentioned submission has been accepted and hence, this appeal against Rejection of application for new registration is allowed. The order in Form GST REG-05 of the Commerical Tax Officer, Ghatak-40, Vadodara dated 27/05/2020 is hereby set aside, with direction to activate the GST registrations application and make process of issue of registration certificate as per Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 under Section-25 and Rule-10.”
The grievance voiced by the writ-applicant herein is that despite the fact that he succeeded before the authority, till this date the respondent no.2 has not given effect to the order passed by the Appellate Authority referred to above.
We dispose of this writ-application with a direction to the respondent no.2 to give effect at the earliest to the order passed by the Appellate Authority dated 17.06.2020 and further, grant all consequential benefits available to the writ-applicant in accordance with law for the interregnum period. Let the needful be done within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of the writ of this order.
At this stage Mr. Sharma, the learned AGP expressed an apprehension that even as on date, the respondent no.2 may not be in a position to give effect to the order passed by the appellate authority due to technical glitches. Mr. Sharma solicits the help of the respondent no.3 – G.S.T.N. The technical glitches are something, which are within the C/SCA/12954/2021 ORDER DATED: 10/02/2022 control of the G.S.T.N. A registered dealer should not be told that despite succeeding before the appellate authority, it is difficult to give effect to the order passed by the authority because of technical glitches. The technical glitches should be attended at the earliest. Next time, there should not be complaint at the end of the writ- applicant herein that the order passed in appeal has not been given effect. Direct service is permitted. (J. B. PARDIWALA, J) (NISHA M. THAKORE,J) A. B. VAGHELA
Reproduced from the public record of the Gujarat High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.