M/S Bla Projects PVT LTD Through Its Authorized Signatory Shri Kumar Bhawesh vs. Union Of INDIA Through The Secretary, Ministry Of Finance (Department Of Revenue)

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition in terms of its earlier order/judgment dated October 3, 2024, passed in W.P.(T) No. 5071 of 2023 and analogous cases. The operative part of that judgment stated that the writ petitioners are required to respond to the show cause notices for their consideration by the authority concerned, in accordance with law. Consequently, all the writ petitions, including the present one, were disposed of on this basis. The specific issues regarding the quashing of the Show Cause Notice and the designation of the 'Proper Officer' were not independently decided in this order but were implicitly deferred to the adjudication process following the petitioner's response to the notice. No issue was expressly left undecided, but the substantive challenge to the notice was not adjudicated on merits.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s BLA Projects Pvt. Ltd., filed a writ petition challenging a Show Cause Notice dated April 25, 2024, issued by the Joint Director, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Regional Unit, Jamshedpur. The notice was issued under Section 74(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for the period September 2017 to September 2018. The petitioner sought to quash the notice and declare that the issuing authority was not the 'Proper Officer'. The case was listed alongside similar writ petitions, including W.P.(T) No. 5071 of 2023, where judgment had been reserved. The revenue submitted that the batch of petitions had been disposed of by directing petitioners to respond to the show cause notices.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Show Cause Notice dated April 25, 2024, issued by the Respondent No. 2 (Joint Director, DGGI) under Section 74(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for the period September 2017 to September 2018, is liable to be quashed and set aside? 2. Whether Respondent No. 2 is the 'Proper Officer' for issuing the impugned Show Cause Notice under Section 74(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that the Show Cause Notice should be quashed and that the issuing authority was not the 'Proper Officer' for issuing such a notice under Section 74(1) of the CGST Act, 2017. Revenue's Contention: The respondent-Revenue submitted that a batch of writ petitions, including W.P.(T) No. 5071 of 2023, had been disposed of by an order dated October 3, 2024, directing the writ petitioners to respond to the show cause notices for consideration by the authority concerned. They requested that the instant petition also be disposed of in terms of that order.