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

CW/4537/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02024424202428 March 2024Bench: MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA,BHUWAN GOYAL2 pages

AI SummaryPartly Allowed

Facts

The petitioner, M/s P. K. Engineers, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court. The respondents, Union of India and State of Rajasthan, through their respective authorities, were represented. The core issue revolved around the pendency of the matter due to the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal. The respondents' counsel submitted that the Tribunal's constitution was ongoing and proposed that the petition be disposed of with protection under Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. This would allow the petitioner to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the Tribunal's constitution, referencing a circular dated 23.03.2020. The petitioner's counsel agreed to this arrangement.

Held

The Court disposed 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, 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 of the constitution of the Tribunal. The Court accepted the proposal made by the respondents and agreed to by the petitioner, acknowledging the current situation of the non-constitution of the Tribunal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be kept pending or disposed of in light of the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal and the ongoing process for its constitution? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner agreed to the proposed disposal of the writ petition with specific directions, as outlined by the respondents. Revenue/State's Argument: The respondents argued that the Tribunal has not yet been constituted, but the process is underway. They proposed that the writ petition should not be kept pending and instead be disposed of with appropriate protection available under Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. This would allow the petitioner to file an appeal within the 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:15134-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.4537/2024 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(s) : Mr. Shafi Mohammad Chouhan, Advocate (Through Video Conferencing) with Mr. Sahil Shafi Chouhan, Advocate For Respondent(s) : Mr. Bharat Vyas, Additional Advocate General Mr. Sandeep Pathak, Advocate HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BHUWAN GOYAL

Order 28/03/2024

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,

[2024:RJ-JP:15134-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-4537/2024] 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 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. (BHUWAN GOYAL),J (MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA),CJ Karan/14

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.