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

CW/4539/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02024431202428 March 2024Bench: MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA,BHUWAN GOYAL2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioner, M/s P. K. Engineers, through its proprietor Shri Pramod Kumar, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court. The respondents were the Union of India, the State of Rajasthan, and the Deputy Commissioner, State Tax Department. The petition was filed due to the non-constitution of the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal. The respondents' counsel submitted that the Tribunal's constitution was in progress and 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's counsel agreed to this proposal. The court considered a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by the Government of Rajasthan, Finance Department (Tax Division), in support of this approach.

Held

The Court decided to dispose of the writ petition at this stage. The reasoning was based on the submission by the respondents that the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal was not yet constituted, but the process was ongoing. To provide relief to the petitioner and acknowledge the statutory framework, the Court directed 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 recovery proceedings shall be initiated for the balance amount. 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 ratio decidendi is that in the absence of the appellate tribunal, the High Court can grant interim protection and direct the petitioner to comply with pre-deposit requirements under Section 112(8) while preserving their right to appeal once the tribunal is functional. No issue was expressly left undecided.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be entertained and kept pending in light of the ongoing process for the constitution of the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal, or if it should be disposed of with specific directions. This issue turns on the procedural implications of the absence of the Tribunal and the availability of statutory remedies. The petitioner's side implicitly argued for the necessity of a forum to address their grievance. The revenue/State argued that the petition should not be kept pending and proposed disposal with liberty to file an appeal upon the Tribunal's constitution, citing Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and 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

[2024:RJ-JP:15139-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.4539/2024 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, Amberdkar Circle Jaipur-302010 (Rajasthan) 3. The Deputy Commissioner, State Tax Department, Circle- Jhunjhanu, Indra Nagar, Jhunjhunu- 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:15139-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-4539/2024] 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/16

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.