Ginni Industries And Timber Merchant vs. State Of Rajasthan

CW/6490/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02033784202422 May 2024Bench: MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA,BHUWAN GOYAL2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioner, Ginni Industries and Timber Merchant, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court. The respondents, including the State of Rajasthan and the Union of India, submitted that the GST Tribunal had not yet been constituted. They proposed that the petition be disposed of with protection under Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, allowing the petitioner to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the Tribunal's constitution. The petitioner agreed to this arrangement. The petition was disposed of with a direction that if the petitioner complies with the payment provisions of Section 112(8) of the Act, recovery proceedings for the balance amount would be stayed, provided the petitioner files an appeal within three months of the Tribunal's constitution.

Held

The Court decided to dispose of the writ petition with a specific direction. It held that if the petitioner makes the payment as stipulated in Sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, no further proceedings for the recovery of 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 GST Tribunal is constituted. The Court accepted the respondents' submission regarding the non-constitution of the Tribunal and the procedural accommodation offered. The ratio decidendi is that in the absence of a functional appellate tribunal, courts may grant interim protection to assessees who comply with pre-deposit requirements under Section 112(8), allowing them to pursue their statutory remedies once the tribunal is established.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be kept pending in light of the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal, or disposed of with liberty to file an appeal upon its constitution? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner agreed to the disposal of the petition on the condition proposed by the respondents. Respondents' Argument: The respondents argued that the Tribunal has not been constituted, and the process is ongoing. They contended that the petition should not be kept pending but disposed of with appropriate protection under Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, allowing the petitioner to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the date the Tribunal is constituted. 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:24368-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6490/2024 Ginni Industries and Timber Merchant, Near Laxman Mandir, Deeg, Bharatpur (GSTIN 08AFRPJ4009GIZE) through its Proprietor Kuldeep Jain S/o Shri Radheyshyam Jain aged 50 Years. ----Petitioner Versus 1. State of Rajasthan, through its Principal Secretary, Department of Finance (Tax Division), Government Secretariat, Jaipur. 2. The Commissioner, State Tax Commercial Tax Department, Kar Bhawan, Ambedkar Circle, Bhawani Singh Road, Jaipur Rajasthan. 3. The Additional Commissioner Cum Appellate Authority, Commercial Taxes Department, Bharatpur. 4. Deputy Commissioner, State Taxes, Circle-A, Zone- Bharatpur. 5. Union of India, through Commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax, NCR Building, Stature Circle, C- Scheme, Jaipur. ----Respondents For Petitioner : Ms. Manjumoni Hazarika Advocate. For Respondents : Mr. Bharat Vyas Additional Advocate General with Ms. Pratyushi Mehta Advocate. Mr. Kinshuk Jain Advocate. HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BHUWAN GOYAL

Order 22/05/2024

Mr. Bharat Vyas, learned Additional Advocate General appears on behalf of Respondents No. 1 to 4. [2024:RJ-JP:24368-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-6490/2024]

Mr. Kinshuk Jain, learned counsel appears on behalf of Respondent No. 5. 3. Though the matter comes up for admission today, with the consent of the parties, the petition is being disposed off finally.

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 /62

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.