M/S Balwant Construction PVT. LTD. vs. The State Of Bihar
Held
The Court did not adjudicate on the merits of the case. The learned counsel for the petitioner sought and was granted permission to withdraw the present petitions. Consequently, the petitions were dismissed as withdrawn. Any pending interlocutory applications were also disposed of. The Court did not make any findings on the validity of the assessment orders, the petitioner's eligibility to file returns late, or the applicability of Section 62(2) of the GST Act. The operative direction was to dismiss the petitions as withdrawn.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s Balwant Construction Pvt. Ltd., filed multiple writ petitions before the Patna High Court challenging assessment orders passed by the Assistant Commissioner of State Taxes. These orders were passed under Section 62 of the GST Act, pursuant to best judgment assessments, due to the petitioner's default in filing GSTR-3B returns for various tax periods: April 2019, June 2019, May 2019, and March 2019 (financial year 2018-19). The petitioner sought to quash these assessment orders, requesting permission to furnish returns with late fees and to stay recovery proceedings. In one petition (CWJC No. 404 of 2020), the petitioner also sought a direction to treat the assessment order as withdrawn, asserting that a valid return and tax payment were made after the service of the assessment order, in terms of Section 62(2) of the GST Act.
Key Issues
1. Whether the assessment orders passed under Section 62 of the GST Act for best judgment assessment are liable to be quashed due to the petitioner's subsequent filing of returns and payment of taxes for the periods of April 2019, June 2019, May 2019, and March 2019 (financial year 2018-19)? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that they should be allowed to furnish returns with late fees, as their cases did not fall under tax liability for April and May 2019. For the March 2019 period, the petitioner contended that a valid return and tax payment were made after the assessment order, invoking Section 62(2) of the GST Act, and thus the assessment order should be deemed withdrawn. Revenue's contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments from the revenue or state respondents.
Sections Cited
Section 62
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.2015 of 2020 ====================================================== M/s Balwant Construction Pvt. Ltd., through its Managing Director Balwant Singh, (M) Aged about 59 years having its registered office situates at Saray Ramgarh, Bhabhua, Distt. Kaimur, Pin - Code 82110. ... ... Petitioner/s Versus
The State of Bihar through its Chief Secretary.
State Tax Commissioner-Cum-Secretary Commercial Tax Department, government of Bihar, Patna (Vikash Bhawan).
Joint Commissioner State Tax, Commercial Tax Department, Bhabhua Circle, Bhabhua.
The Assistant Commissioner of State Taxes, Bhabhua Circle, Bhabhua, Distt. Kaimur. ... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== with Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 120 of 2020 ====================================================== M/s Balwant Construction Pvt. Ltd. through its Managing Director Balwant Singh, having its registered Office situated at Saray Ramgarh Bhabhua , Distt. Kaimur, Pin Code- 821100 ... ... Petitioner/s Versus
The State of Bihar through its Chief Secretary
State Tax Commissioner-Cum-Secretary Commercial Ta
The judgment continues below.
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