M/S Mittal Coal Traders vs. State Of Punjab And Others

Held

The Court acknowledged the petitioner's grievance regarding the blocked ITC of ₹9,69,595/- and the pending application dated 28.07.2021 before respondent no. 3. The Court found it appropriate to direct respondent no. 3 to decide the petitioner's application in accordance with the law. The reasoning was based on the principle that administrative authorities should act upon applications filed before them within a reasonable time. The operative direction was for respondent no. 3 to decide the application within 15 days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order. No specific findings were made on the legality of the blocked ITC itself, as the primary focus was on the procedural delay.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Mittal Coal Traders, has approached the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh with a grievance that its Input Tax Credit (ITC) amounting to ₹9,69,595/- has been illegally blocked. The petitioner had filed an application dated 28.07.2021 to respondent no. 3, seeking resolution of this issue. However, this application remained undecided. The present writ petition was filed to seek a direction for the timely disposal of the said application.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner's Input Tax Credit (ITC) of ₹9,69,595/- has been illegally blocked, and if so, what is the appropriate remedy? 2. Whether respondent no. 3 has failed to decide the application dated 28.07.2021 filed by the petitioner, and if so, what is the consequence? The petitioner argued that its ITC has been illegally blocked and that the concerned authority (respondent no. 3) has failed to decide its application seeking redressal. The petitioner sought a direction from the Court for the decision of its pending application. The respondents (State of Punjab and others) did not record any specific arguments in the judgment.