Ramnagar Enterprises vs. State Tax Officer

Held

The Court held that the petitioner has an alternative statutory remedy of challenging the impugned orders by filing an appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act. The Court noted the submission by the Revenue that in view of Section 107(7), there would be a deemed stay if the remedy of appeal is availed. Consequently, the Court decided to relegate the petitioner to the alternative statutory remedy. The writ petition was disposed of on this basis. No other issues were decided, and no specific findings were made on the merits of the demand itself.

Facts

The petitioner, Ramnagar Enterprises, filed a writ petition before the Uttarakhand High Court challenging a composite demand of Rs. 8,08,879/- for the tax period September 2017 to March 2018. This demand was imposed by an order dated 22.11.2023, passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act by the State Tax Officer. The petitioner sought to quash this recovery order and stay its operation. The State, represented by the State Tax Officer and another respondent, argued that the petitioner had an alternative statutory remedy.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable when the petitioner has an alternative statutory remedy of appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act? The petitioner sought to quash a recovery order and stay its operation, arguing that the impugned order was violative of the law. The respondents, represented by the State Tax Officer, contended that the petitioner has an alternative remedy of filing a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act. They further argued that Section 107(7) provides for a deemed stay if the remedy of appeal is availed, implying that the High Court should not interfere at this stage.