Nice Telecommunication Private Limited vs. Assistant Commissioner

CW/8194/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02042311202423 May 2024Bench: MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA,BHUWAN GOYAL2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioner, Nice Telecommunication Private Limited, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court. The respondents, including the Assistant Commissioner and the State of Rajasthan, appeared. The matter was taken up for final disposal with the consent of the parties. The respondents submitted that the GST Tribunal had not yet been constituted, and the process was ongoing. They proposed that the petition be disposed of with liberty for the petitioner to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the date of the Tribunal's constitution, relying on a circular dated 23.03.2020. The petitioner's counsel agreed to this course of action.

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition. It directed that if the petitioner makes the payment as stipulated under Sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, no further recovery proceedings for the balance amount shall be initiated. This relief is contingent upon the petitioner availing the statutory remedy of appeal within a period of three months from the date the Tribunal is constituted. The Court accepted the proposal of the respondents, acknowledging the ongoing process of Tribunal constitution and the need to provide a procedural pathway for the petitioner to pursue their statutory rights.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be kept pending or disposed of in light of the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal, considering the provisions of Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner agreed to the disposal of the petition on the condition proposed by the respondents. Respondents' contention: The respondents argued that since the Tribunal was not constituted, the petition should not be kept pending. They proposed that the petition be disposed of with protection under Section 112(8) of the Act, allowing the petitioner to file an appeal within a specified period from the Tribunal's constitution. They relied on a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by the Government of Rajasthan, Finance Department (Tax Division).

Sections Cited

Section 112(8)

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

[2024:RJ-JP:24673-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 8194/2024 Nice Telecommunication Private Limited, through its Director, Girish Sharma Son of Shri Badri Dutt Sharma aged about 51 years, Resident of 1-A, Keshav Nagar, Opposite Community Centre, Civil Lines Jaipur Rajasthan 302019. ----Petitioner Versus 1. Assistant Commissioner, Circle-I, Jaipur-I, Ward-II, Circle- I, Jaipur-I, Jaipur-I, Rajasthan. 2. State of Rajasthan, through its Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Finance Secretariat, Jaipur, Rajasthan. 3. Appellate Authority Ist, State Goods and Service Tax Department, Kar Bhawan, Ambedkar Circle, Jaipur. 4. Union of Inida, through its Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi. ----Respondents For Petitioner : Mr. D.P. Sharma Advocate. For Respondents No. 1 to 3 For Respondent No. 4 : : Mr. Bharat Vyas Additional Advocate General. Mr. Sandeep Pathak, Mr. Kapil Sharma Advocate with Mr. Inderjeet Deora Advocate. HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BHUWAN GOYAL

Order 23/05/2024

Mr. Bharat Vyas, learned Additional Advocate General appears on behalf of Respondents No. 1 to 3. 2. Mr. Sandeep Pathak, learned counsel appears on behalf of Respondent No. 4. 3. Though the matter comes up for admission today, with the consent of the parties, the petition is being disposed off finally.

[2024:RJ-JP:24673-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-8194/2024]

At the outset, learned counsel for the respondents have 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, this 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 their submission, learned counsel for the respondents placed 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. (BHUWAN GOYAL),J (MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA),CJ MANOJ NARWANI /39

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.