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 amount towards tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty, and also a sum equal to 10% of the remaining disputed tax amount. The Court also accepted the undertaking that the Petitioner would fully cooperate and not seek unnecessary adjournments. In response, the State's counsel 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. The Court directed that this be done positively within four weeks. Furthermore, if the Petitioner complied with this undertaking within the stipulated period, 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 from the date of filing. The petition was disposed of in these terms.

Facts

Sanyog Construction Private Limited (the Petitioner) challenged an assessment order dated May 30, 2019/August 30, 2019, passed under Section 62 of the GST Act, 2017, by the Deputy Commissioner of State Taxes, North Circle, Patna (Respondent No. 4). This order demanded a total of Rs. 6,97,817.64 for the month of June 2019, as communicated via DRC-07 dated September 2, 2019. The Petitioner sought to file a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act but was facing issues with the GST web portal, specifically regarding the pre-requisite of depositing 10% of the disputed tax amount, which was Rs. 69,782/-. The Petitioner also sought to prevent recovery of the disputed amount during the pendency of the appeal and, alternatively, requested a direction for the Commissioner of State Taxes to decide their application dated March 5, 2020, on merits.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Petitioner should be permitted to file/upload a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act, 2017, on the GST web portal without depositing the pre-requisite 10% of the disputed tax amount of Rs. 69,782/-, arising from the assessment order dated 30.05.2019/30.8.2019 passed under Section 62 of the GST Act, 2017, which resulted in a demand of Rs. 6,97,817.64. Petitioner's Contention: The Petitioner argued that they should be allowed to file the appeal by depositing the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty, along with 10% of the remaining disputed tax amount, and be permitted to upload it on the GST portal as required by Section 107 of the GST Act. They also sought to prevent recovery of the disputed amount until the appeal was filed and requested that their pending application be decided on merit. Revenue's Contention: The State submitted that if the Petitioner deposits the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty, along with 10% of the remaining disputed tax amount, the concerned authority would allow access for uploading the statutory appeal on the GST web portal as per Section 107 of the GST Act.