Vijay Jain vs. The State Of Bihar And Ors

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition, noting that no one appeared for the petitioner. The Court accepted the submission of the learned Standing Counsel for the State and granted liberty to the petitioner to represent his grievance before the Joint Commissioner, State Taxes, South Circle, Patna. The Court directed that any such grievance raised by the petitioner would be considered and disposed of by the concerned authority in accordance with law expeditiously, preferably within a period of three months of such filing. The Court did not decide on the merits of the petitioner's original request for a license, but rather facilitated the process for its consideration by the appropriate authority.

Facts

The petitioner, Vijay Jain, a partner in M/s Krishna Machine Tools, approached the Patna High Court through a writ petition. The petitioner's grievance stemmed from the alleged inaction of the authorities in processing his request for a license under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The State, represented by Mr. Vikash Kumar, submitted that no order had been passed on the petitioner's request. The State's counsel requested that the matter be remitted to the Joint Commissioner, State Taxes, South Circle, Patna, who is the empowered authority to consider the petitioner's grievance. The Court noted that no one appeared on behalf of the petitioner.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Court should entertain a writ petition when the petitioner's request for a license under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956/Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, has not yet been formally decided by the competent authority. Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner's argument is not recorded as no one appeared on their behalf. Revenue's Argument: The revenue argued that the matter should be remitted to the Joint Commissioner, State Taxes, South Circle, Patna, as this authority is empowered to consider the petitioner's grievance. The revenue implied that the petitioner should first exhaust the available administrative remedies before approaching the High Court.