Rahul Gupta vs. State Tax Officer, State Tax Department

CW/20409/2019HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02105457201924 January 2025Bench: AVNEESH JHINGAN,SHUBHA MEHTA2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioner, Rahul Gupta, proprietor of M/s R K Traders, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur. The petition was filed aggrieved by the dismissal of his first appeal, which challenged an assessment order passed under the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act. A significant grievance raised by the petitioner was the non-functionality of the GST Tribunal, despite the implementation of GST in 2017. The respondent, State Tax Officer, State Tax Department, did not appear before the Court. The Court considered a previous order of the same High Court in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024.

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition in terms similar to the order passed in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024. The Court acknowledged the petitioner's grievance regarding the non-functional GST Tribunal. Following the precedent, the Court directed the petitioner to deposit the amount as per the provisions of Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, within two months from the date of the order. This direction was intended to provide protection against recovery of the balance amount, subject to the petitioner availing the statutory remedy of appeal within three months from the date the Tribunal is constituted. The Court did not expressly leave any issue undecided, but the primary focus was on providing a procedural remedy in light of the non-functional appellate mechanism.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner can be granted relief regarding the non-functional GST Tribunal, considering the provisions of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? The petitioner argued that the GST Tribunal is not functional, which impedes his statutory right to appeal. He relied on a previous order of the High Court dated 15.02.2024 in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024, which provided a mechanism for petitioners facing similar issues. This order suggested disposing of the petition with directions for payment as per Section 112(8) of the Act and liberty to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the Tribunal's constitution. The respondent (State Tax Officer) did not present any arguments. However, in the cited previous order, the respondent's counsel had submitted that the Tribunal had not been constituted, the process was ongoing, and thus the petition should not be kept pending but disposed of with appropriate protection under Section 112(8) of the Act, referencing a circular dated 23.03.2020.

Sections Cited

Section 112(8)

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

[2025:RJ-JP:3649-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 20409/2019 Rahul Gupta, Aged About 29 Years, Proprietor M/s R K Traders, Agrasen Kapda Market, Behind Higher Secondary School, Hindon City, Karauli. ----Petitioner Versus State Tax Officer, State Tax Department, Ward-I, Anti-Evasion- Circle, Krishna Nagar, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. ----Respondent For Petitioner(s) : Mr.Sarvesh Jain, Adv. For Respondent(s) : None present. HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AVNEESH JHINGAN HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SHUBHA MEHTA

Order 24/01/2025

This writ petition is filed aggrieved of dismissal of first Appeal challenging the assessment order passed under the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act.

One of the grievance raised is that the Tribunal is not functional inspite of the implementation of the GST in 2017. 3. Learned counsel relies upon order dated 15.02.2024 passed by this Court while disposing of D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024 with the following directions:- “1. Though the matter comes up for admission today, with the consent of the parties, the petition is being disposed of finally.

At the outset, learned counsel for the respondents has submitted that at present the Tribunal has not been constituted and the process towards constitution of the Tribunal is going on, therefore, in these circumstances, the

[2025:RJ-JP:3649-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-20409/2019] petition may not be kept pending but with appropriate protection available under Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax, 2017 (for short ‘the Act’), this petition may be disposed off with liberty to the petitioner to file appeal within stipulated period from the date the Tribunal is constituted. In support of his submission, he places reliance upon a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by Government of Rajasthan Finance Department (Tax Division).

Learned counsel for the petitioner agrees to the disposal of the petition on the aforesaid condition.

Accordingly, this petition, at this stage, is disposed off with a direction that in case petitioner makes payment as per provisions contained in Sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the Act, further proceedings shall not be drawn for recovery of the balance amount, provided that the petitioner avails statutory remedy of appeal within a period of three months from the date of the constitution of the Tribunal.”

The petition is disposed of in the same terms. Let the petitioner deposit the amount as per the provision of Section 112(8) of the Act within two months from today.

The petition is disposed of accordingly. (SHUBHA MEHTA), J (AVNEESH JHINGAN), J Himanshu Soni/30

Reproduced from the public record of the Rajasthan High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.