M/S. Saraiwwalaa Agrr Refineries LTD. vs. The State Of Telangana

Held

The Court held that the petitioner's ground of challenge, which involved the disallowance of input tax credit (ITC) on exempt transactions and exempt sales, did not meet the criteria for bypassing the statutory remedy of appeal. The Court found that the case did not satisfy the parameters that would allow for the Writ Petition to be entertained directly. Therefore, the petitioner was directed to approach the first appellate authority. The Court noted that the Writ Petition was filed within the period of limitation for filing an appeal, considering the holiday on the last day. The period during which the Writ Petition was pending was directed to be excluded for the purpose of limitation. The Court dismissed the Writ Petition, granting liberty to the petitioner to file a statutory appeal on or before May 10, 2019, which would be treated as filed within the period of limitation.

Facts

The petitioner challenged an order of assessment passed under the Telangana VAT Act, 2005, by the Assessing Officer. The primary contention was the wrongful disallowance of input tax credit (ITC) on exempt transactions and exempt sales. The impugned order was dated March 2, 2019, and received by the petitioner on March 7, 2019. The last date for filing an appeal was April 7, 2019, which was a holiday. Consequently, the petitioner filed the Writ Petition on April 8, 2019, which was within the extended period of limitation for filing an appeal. The Writ Petition had been pending since then.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner's challenge to the disallowance of input tax credit (ITC) on exempt transactions and exempt sales under the Telangana VAT Act, 2005, warrants bypassing the statutory remedy of appeal, thereby justifying the entertainment of a Writ Petition. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the Assessing Officer had wrongly disallowed ITC on exempt transactions and exempt sales. Revenue's contention: The respondents, represented by the learned Special Standing Counsel, argued that the ground of challenge, concerning the disallowance of ITC on exempt sales, did not satisfy the parameters for bypassing the alternative remedy of appeal. They contended that the petitioner should pursue the statutory appeal process.