M/S Sri Sai Steels vs. The State Of Andhra Pradesh
Held
The Court held that the writ petition was liable to be dismissed due to the non-disclosure of material facts. Specifically, the petitioners failed to disclose the existence of previous proceedings related to the Assessment Year 2019-20, including the dismissal of their appeal and the pendency of another writ petition challenging that dismissal. The Court found that paragraph 13 of the writ petition, which stated that no other writ or legal proceedings had been filed, was factually incorrect. The reasoning was based on the principle that a party approaching the writ court must disclose all material facts truthfully and completely. The Court granted liberty to the petitioners to file a fresh petition, provided they disclosed all material facts. No decision was made on the merits of the GST notice or order.
Facts
The petitioners, M/s Sri Sai Steels and others, filed a writ petition challenging a notice dated 27.09.2023 and an order for the Assessment Year 2019-20. The petitioners' counsel submitted that for the same assessment year, a previous show cause notice was issued on 24.02.2021, and an assessment order was passed. An appeal against this order was dismissed, and a writ petition challenging the appellate order was filed and is pending. However, the Court noted that the writ petition did not contain any averments regarding these previous proceedings, and in fact, paragraph 13 of the petition stated that no other writ or legal proceedings had been filed. This was found to be incorrect based on the submissions made.
Key Issues
1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable given the non-disclosure of material facts regarding previous legal proceedings concerning the same assessment year (2019-20) and the same subject matter, specifically the dismissal of a prior appeal and the pendency of another writ petition challenging that dismissal? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioners' counsel initially submitted that previous proceedings existed, including a pending writ petition. However, when questioned, the counsel could not point to any averments in the current writ petition supporting this. The petition itself contained a statement denying other pending legal proceedings. Revenue's Argument: The respondents (State of Andhra Pradesh and others) did not explicitly argue on the merits of the GST issue. Their position, as reflected in the court's observation, was that the petitioners had failed to disclose material facts. The Court did not record any specific arguments from the revenue side regarding the GST provisions or the impugned notice/order.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
APHC010093342024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH :: AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) TUESDAY ,THE TWENTY SEVENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FOUR [ 3464 ] PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI NATH TILHARI
THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE HARINATH.N WRIT PETITION NO: 5037 OF 2024 Between: M/S SRI SAI STEELS AND OTHERS ...PETITIONER(S) AND THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND OTHERS ...RESPONDENT(S) Counsel for the Petitioner(s):SRI. SATYA SAI KRISHNA SISTLA Counsel for the Respondents: GP FOR COMMERCIAL TAX The Court made the following:
Sri Challa Viswanath, learned counsel, representing Sri Satya Sai Krishna Sistla, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the present petition pertains to the impugned notice dated 27.09.2023 as also the order passed for the Assessment Year 2019-20. He submits that for the said assessment year previously also the show cause notice dated 24.02.2021 was given. He further submits that the order for assessment was also passed previously against which the petitioners’ appeal was dismissed and challenging the said appellate order, writ petition was filed by the petitioners which is pending
The judgment continues below.
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