M/S P. K. Engineers vs. Union Of INDIA

CW/5701/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02030288202418 April 2024Bench: MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA,BHUWAN GOYAL2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

M/s P. K. Engineers, through its Proprietor Shri Pramod Kumar, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court. The respondents, Union of India and the State of Rajasthan through its tax authorities, appeared. The matter was listed for admission but was disposed of finally with the consent of all parties. The respondents submitted that the GST Tribunal had not yet been constituted, and the process was ongoing. They proposed that the petition not be kept pending but 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 proposal.

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition with a specific direction. It held 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, further proceedings for the recovery of the balance amount shall not be drawn. 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 need for a procedural resolution. The reasoning is based on providing a practical solution to the petitioner's grievance while acknowledging the administrative impediment of the Tribunal's non-establishment. The ratio decidendi is that in the absence of a functional appellate tribunal, a High Court can grant interim protection and a pathway for appeal upon compliance with statutory pre-conditions, as outlined in Section 112(8).

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 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 Act, 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:17996-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5701/2024 M/s P. K. Engineers, through its Proprietor Shri Pramod Kumar aged about 41 years having its Registered Office at A-21, opposite Balajee Mandir, Rajgarh Road, Pilani, Surajgarh, Distt. Jhunjhanu-333031 (Rajasthan). ----Petitioner Versus 1. Union of India, through Chief Commissioner, Central Goods and Service Tax, Central Revenue Building, Statue Circle, Jaipur-302010 (Rajasthan) 2. State of Rajasthan through Commissioner, State Goods and Service Tax, Commercial Taxes Department, Kar Bhawan, Ambedkar Circle Jaipur-302010 (Rajasthan) 3. The Deputy Commissioner, State Tax Department, Circle- Jhunjhanu, Indra Nagar, Jhunjhanu-333001 (Raj.) ----Respondents For Petitioner : Mr. Shafi Mohammad Chouhan Advocate through Video Conferencing. Mr. Vikram Singh Shekhawat Advocate and Mr. Sahil Shafi Chouhan Advocate. For Respondent No. 1 For Respondents No. 2 & 3 : : Mr. Sandeep Pathak Advocate. Mr. Bharat Vyas Additional Advocate General assisted by Ms. Niti Jain Bhandari Advocate. HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BHUWAN GOYAL

Order 18/04/2024

Mr. Sandeep Pathak, learned counsel, on advance copy, appears on behalf of Respondent No. 1. [2024:RJ-JP:17996-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-5701/2024]

Mr. Bharat Vyas, learned Additional Advocate General, on advance copy, appears on behalf of Respondents No. 2 and 3. 3. 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 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 /10

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.