Shree Shyam Enterprise And Another vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioners, Shree Shyam Enterprise & Anr., challenged an order dated December 28, 2021, passed by the first appellate authority under the GST Act, 2017. This order confirmed a previous order dated November 9, 2021, by the adjudicating authority. The petitioners contended that neither authority provided them with the documents they relied upon to pass their respective orders. This specific ground was also raised in the memorandum of appeal before the first appellate authority. The respondents, the State of West Bengal & Ors., did not deny this admitted position.
Held
The Court held that the impugned order of the first appellate authority dated December 28, 2021, was unsustainable. The reasoning was that both the adjudicating authority and the first appellate authority had relied on documents without providing them to the petitioners or allowing them access. This failure to provide the documents, which was a specific ground raised in the appeal, prejudiced the petitioners' right to a fair hearing. The Court found that the respondents could not deny this admitted position. Consequently, the Court set aside the appellate authority's order and remanded the matter back for fresh consideration. The first appellate authority was directed to provide copies of the relied-upon documents to the petitioners before passing a fresh, reasoned, and speaking order in accordance with the law.
Key Issues
1. Whether the adjudicating authority and the first appellate authority under the GST Act, 2017, acted contrary to law by relying on documents without providing them to the petitioners or allowing access to them? (Question of law and fact, concerning principles of natural justice and procedural fairness). Contentions: Petitioner: Argued that the impugned orders were unsustainable as the authorities failed to provide the documents relied upon, despite this being a specific ground of appeal. They contended that this denial of access to crucial documents violated their right to a fair hearing. Revenue/State: Did not deny the admitted position that documents were not provided to the petitioners.
Sections Cited
GST Act, 2017
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
19-01-2022 Item No.18 Subrata IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Constitutional Writ Juri iction Appellate Side WPA No.358 of 2022 Shree Shyam Enterprise & Anr. -vs- State of West Bengal & Ors. Mr. Suryaneel Das …for the petitioners Mr. A. Ray Md. T.M. Siddiqui Mr. Debasish Ghosh …for the State Heard learned advocates appearing for the parties. In this writ petition, petitioners have challenged the impugned order of the first appellate authority dated December 28, 2021 (Annexure P5, p.169) under the GST Act, 2017 confirming the order of the adjudicating authority dated November 9, 2021 on the grounds that neither the adjudicating authority nor the first appellate authority has provided the documents or allowed access to the documents in question upon which both the authorities relied in holding against the petitioners, and that before the appellate authority there was a specific ground in the memorandum of appeal in this regard. Learned advocates appearing for the respondents were not in a position to deny this admitted position which appears from record. Considering the submission of the parties, this writ petition is disposed of by setting aside the impugned order of the appellate authority dated December 28, 2021 and remanding the matter back to the appellate authority for consideration of the petitioners’ case afresh by passing a reasoned and speaking order in accordance with law. Before passing such order, the first appellate authority shall 2 provide copies of the documents in question upon which both the adjudicating authority and the appellate authority have relied at the time of passing the impugned order. With the above observations and directions, WPA No.358 of 2022 stands disposed of. [Md. Nizamuddin, J]
Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.