Shankar Lal Jangir vs. Union Of INDIA

Facts

The petitioner, Shankar Lal Jangir, approached the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur through a Civil Writ Petition. The respondents included the Union of India, the State of Rajasthan, the Additional Commissioner (Appeals), and the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax Department. The core of the dispute, though not explicitly detailed in terms of tax periods or amounts, was a matter that the parties agreed was squarely covered by a previous Division Bench judgment of the same High Court in the case of M/s Shree Dev Narayan Marble vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors. The procedural history that matters is that the Tribunal for GST appeals had not yet been constituted, leading to the current petition being filed before the High Court.

Held

The Court held that the present petition is disposed of in light of and with similar directions as given in the case of M/s Shree Dev Narayan Marble. The reasoning is based on the joint submission of the parties that the controversy is covered by the said previous judgment. The Court directed that if the petitioner makes the payment as per the provisions of sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the Act, further proceedings for recovery of the balance amount shall not be drawn. This is subject to the condition that the petitioner avails the statutory remedy of appeal within a period of three months from the date of the constitution of the Tribunal. The ratio decidendi is that in the absence of a constituted Tribunal, and with the consent of parties, a High Court can grant interim protection and direct the petitioner to pursue the statutory remedy once it becomes available, provided pre-conditions for such protection are met. The Court expressly left undecided the merits of the underlying tax dispute.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present writ petition should be kept pending or disposed of in light of the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal and the availability of statutory remedies? (Mixed question of law and fact, concerning Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and administrative expediency). Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner agreed to the disposal of the petition on the condition proposed by the respondents, implying acceptance of the proposed course of action. Respondents' Argument: The respondents argued that since the Tribunal has not been constituted, the petition should not be kept pending. They proposed that the petition be disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the date the Tribunal is constituted, provided the petitioner makes the payment as per Section 112(8) of the Act. They relied on a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by the Government of Rajasthan, Finance Department (Tax Division).