Kashish Developers Limited vs. The State Of Bihar

Held

The Court did not decide the merits of the case. Instead, the parties jointly prayed for the petition to be disposed of with a direction to the respondent No. 3, the Joint Commissioner, State Tax, Patna Central Circle, Patna, to pass an appropriate order as required under the Goods and Services Tax provisions. The Court directed the parties to appear before the Joint Commissioner on November 17, 2021. The Joint Commissioner was mandated to take a decision within eight weeks from the date of appearance, after affording an opportunity of hearing to the parties to present all essential documents and materials. A speaking order assigning reasons was to be passed. The Court explicitly stated that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case and all issues were left open. If any amount was found due to the petitioner, it was to be refunded as per Chapter-11 of the Value Added Tax Act, 2005.

Facts

The petitioner, Kashish Developers Limited, entered into a works contract agreement (No. 05 SBD of 2015-16) on August 10, 2015, when the Bihar Value Added Tax Act, 2005 was in force. The petitioner received taxes as per the VAT Act. Following the implementation of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (GST) and the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, effective July 1, 2017, the petitioner was compelled to pay GST. The petitioner claims to have paid an excess amount of tax, amounting to Rs. 1,87,07,111.53, for the financial year 2018-19, compared to the VAT collected. The petitioner sought directions for the respondent authorities to pay this excess tax amount.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to a refund of the excess tax paid under the GST regime for a works contract executed prior to the GST implementation, specifically concerning the difference between VAT collected and GST paid for the financial year 2018-19, as per File No. NRRDA-GO(17)32017-FA dated 06-06-2018? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner contended that the works contract was executed under the VAT Act, 2005, and they received taxes accordingly. Post-GST implementation, they were forced to pay GST, resulting in an excess payment of Rs. 1,87,07,111.53 for the financial year 2018-19. They relied on a communication from the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, dated 06-06-2018. Revenue's Argument: The judgment records no specific argument from the revenue or State respondents regarding the petitioner's claim for refund or the applicability of GST to pre-GST contracts.