Sanyog Construction Private Limited vs. The State Of Bihar

Held

The Court accepted the statement made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, under instructions, that the petitioner would deposit the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty, and also a sum equal to 10% of the remaining amount of tax in dispute. In response, the learned Standing Counsel for the State stated that upon such deposit, the concerned authority would permit the petitioner to upload the statutory appeal on the GST Web Portal as required under Section 107 of the GST Act, 2017. The Court directed that this be done positively within four weeks. Furthermore, if the petitioner complied with this undertaking, the appellate authority was directed to hear the appeal through virtual mode due to the Covid-19 pandemic and decide it expeditiously, preferably within three months of its filing. The petition was disposed of on these terms.

Facts

The petitioner, Sanyog Construction Private Limited, challenged an assessment order dated May 30, 2019/August 30, 2019, passed under Section 62 of the GST Act, 2017, by the Deputy Commissioner State Taxes, North Circle, Patna. This order demanded a total of Rs. 7,28,542.47 for the month of March 2019, communicated via demand DRC-07 dated September 2, 2019. The petitioner sought permission to file a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act on the web portal without pre-depositing 10% of the disputed tax amount (Rs. 72,856/-). Alternatively, they prayed for a direction to the Commissioner of State Taxes to decide their application dated March 5, 2020, on merit and to restrain coercive recovery steps until the appeal was filed.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Petitioner can be permitted to file a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act, 2017, without depositing the pre-requisite 10% of the disputed tax amount of Rs. 72,856/-? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that they should be allowed to file the appeal on the GST web portal without adjusting the pre-requisite 10% of the assessed/disputed amount. They sought to deposit admitted taxes, interest, fine, fee, and penalty, along with 10% of the remaining disputed tax amount, to file the appeal. Revenue's Contention: The State contended that if the petitioner deposits the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty, and also a sum equal to 10% of the remaining amount of tax in dispute, then the concerned authority will allow access for uploading the statutory appeal on the GST Web Portal as required under Section 107 of the GST Act, 2017.