Debson Pumps PVT. LTD And Anr vs. Assistant Commissioner Of State Tax, Bowbazar Cahrge And Anr

Held

The Court disposed of the appeal and the writ petition with specific directions. It directed the appellants to file a statutory appeal within 30 days of receiving the judgment's server copy and to remit 10% of the disputed tax along with the appeal memorandum. Upon compliance, the Assistant Commissioner of Revenue was directed to address the appellants' bankers to keep the garnishee notice in abeyance, allowing the appellants to operate their bank account. The appellants were granted liberty to file an application before the appellate authority for re-crediting the amount debited from their electronic credit ledger, which the appellate authority was to consider on merits. The appellate authority was also directed to afford a personal hearing and dispose of the appeal expeditiously, preferably within 8 weeks of the conclusion of the personal hearing. The Court also permitted the appellants to file the appeal petition in physical format, noting this was not to be treated as a precedent.

Facts

Debson Pumps Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. (the appellants) filed an intra-Court appeal against an order dated 25th April, 2022, passed by a learned Single Bench in W.P.A. No.5663 of 2022. The Single Bench had declined to grant interim directions and directed the respondents to file their affidavit-in-opposition. The appellants were challenging an order dated 22nd February, 2022, passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, Bowbazar Charge, for three periods. The appellants had not availed the statutory appellate remedy under Section 107(1) of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, due to a lockdown. Their grievances were that the entire amount of alleged due tax was debited from their electronic credit ledger and that a garnishee notice had been issued to their bankers, preventing them from operating their bank account.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appellants should be permitted to operate their bank account and have the amount debited from their electronic credit ledger re-credited, in light of the pending statutory appeal. Petitioner's Arguments: The appellants argued that they were willing to file a statutory appeal but faced two major issues: the entire disputed amount was debited from their electronic credit ledger, and a garnishee notice issued to their bankers prevented them from operating their bank account. They sought permission to operate their bank account and for the debited amount to be re-credited. They relied on the Supreme Court's orders extending the time for filing statutory appeals. Revenue's Arguments: The State, represented by learned Government counsel, made submissions on the appellants' contentions. The judgment does not explicitly detail the State's specific arguments beyond acknowledging their submissions.