M/S Jr Marble vs. State Of Rajasthan

CW/1118/2024HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC01004906202415 February 2024Bench: MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA,MUNNURI LAXMAN2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Jr Marble, through its proprietor Dashrath Singh Charan, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur. The respondents are the State of Rajasthan and various GST authorities. The petition was listed for admission but was disposed of finally with the consent of both parties. The core of the matter revolves around the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal and the petitioner's right to appeal. The respondents 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 after the Tribunal's constitution. This was supported by a circular dated 23.03.2020 from the Government of Rajasthan, Finance Department (Tax Division).

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, no further proceedings for recovery of the balance amount shall be initiated. 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' proposal, supported by the circular, to allow the petitioner to pursue their statutory appeal once the Tribunal is functional, thereby providing a procedural mechanism in the absence of the appellate body. The underlying principle is to protect the petitioner's right to appeal while acknowledging the current administrative vacuum.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be kept pending due to the non-constitution of the GST Tribunal, or if it can be disposed of with appropriate protection for the petitioner's appellate rights? (Question of law) Petitioner's Contention: 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' Contention: The respondents argued that since the Tribunal has not yet been constituted, the process for its constitution is ongoing. Therefore, the petition should not be kept pending. Instead, it should be disposed of with 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 of the Tribunal's constitution. 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-JD:7899-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1118/2024 M/s Jr Marble, Through Its Proprietor Dashrath Singh Charan S/o Bhanwar Singh Charan Aged About 42 Years, R/o Labour, Pipli Acharyan Teh. Kunwaria Distt. Rajsamand (Raj.) 313327 ----Petitioner Versus 1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Principal Secretary, Finance Department (Tax Division), Secretariat, Jaipur. 2. Commissioner, Rajasthan State Gst Department, Kar Bhawan, Jaipur. 3. Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Taxes Department, Anti-Evasion, Bhilwara, Rajasthan. 4. Additional Commissioner, Appellate Authority, State Taxes, Udaipur. ----Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Priyansh Arora For Respondent(s) : Mr. Sunil Bhandari HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MUNNURI LAXMAN

Order 15/02/2024 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, 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

[2024:RJ-JD:7899-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-1118/2024] 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. (MUNNURI LAXMAN),J (MANINDRA MOHAN SHRIVASTAVA),CJ 4-divyaP/-

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.