Babu Lal vs. Union Of INDIA

Facts

The petitioner, Babu Lal, proprietor of M/s Babu Lal Suthar, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur. The respondents are the Union of India, the State of Rajasthan, the Additional Commissioner (Appeals), and the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax Department. The petition challenges an order or action by the revenue authorities. The specific tax period and the amount in dispute are not explicitly stated in the provided text. The procedural history indicates that the parties jointly submitted that the controversy is covered by a previous Division Bench judgment in M/s Shree Dev Narayan Marble vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1115/2024), decided on 15.02.2024.

Held

The Court held that the controversy in the present petition is squarely covered by the judgment of the Division Bench in M/s Shree Dev Narayan Marble vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1115/2024), decided on 15.02.2024. Following the directions in that judgment, the Court disposed of the present petition. The operative direction is that if the petitioner makes the payment as per the provisions contained in Sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the Act, further proceedings for recovery of the balance amount shall not be drawn, provided 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 reasoning is based on the parties' joint submission that the case is covered by the precedent and the specific conditions laid out in that precedent, addressing the issue of the non-constitution of the Tribunal. The ratio decidendi is that in the absence of a functional GST Tribunal, a petitioner can be granted interim protection by complying with Section 112(8) of the Act, with liberty to file an appeal upon the Tribunal's constitution.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present writ petition should be kept pending or disposed of in light of the ongoing process for the constitution of the GST Tribunal, given the absence of a functional Tribunal. 2. Whether the petitioner can be granted protection under Section 112(8) of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, by making payment as per the said provision, and be allowed to file an appeal within a stipulated period from the date of the Tribunal's constitution. Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner's counsel agreed to the disposal of the petition on the condition proposed by the respondents, implying acceptance of the proposed course of action. Revenue's Argument: The respondents argued that the Tribunal has not yet been constituted, and the process is ongoing. Therefore, the petition should not be kept pending. They proposed that the petition be disposed of with appropriate protection available 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. Reliance was placed on a circular dated 23.03.2020 issued by the Government of Rajasthan, Finance Department (Tax Division).