M/S Sidhnath Construction vs. The State Of Bihar

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Sidhnath Construction, challenged an assessment order passed under Section 62 of the Bihar Goods & Service Tax Act, 2017, dated 16.12.2020. The petitioner had filed an appeal against this order, but it was dismissed on 12.12.2022 due to being filed beyond the prescribed time limit under Section 107(4) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Consequently, the petitioner approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking to challenge the assessment order directly.

Held

The Court noted that challenging an assessment order directly under Article 226 of the Constitution is generally not permissible when statutory remedies are available. However, the Court took cognizance of Notification No. 06/2023 dated 31.03.2023, issued by the Central Government on the recommendations of the GST Council. This notification provides a mechanism for filing returns in certain circumstances, which would necessitate a redone assessment. Therefore, the Court disposed of the writ petition by granting liberty to the petitioner to comply with the provisions of the aforementioned notification. The Court did not decide on the merits of the original assessment order or the delay in filing the appeal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the High Court, in its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, can entertain a challenge to an assessment order when a statutory appeal mechanism exists but was not availed within the prescribed time. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner is before the Court challenging the assessment order. (No specific argument recorded in the judgment regarding the maintainability of the writ petition directly). Revenue's contention: The revenue did not explicitly argue on the maintainability of the writ petition. However, the judgment notes that challenging the assessment order under Article 226 is not permissible, implying the revenue's stance against direct writ challenge.