Asha Alpana Enterprise And Anr. vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.
Facts
The petitioners, Asha Alpana Enterprise & Anr., filed a writ petition seeking directions against the State of West Bengal and its authorities. The core issue revolves around the additional tax liability arising from government contracts, particularly those awarded before or after the introduction of GST on July 1, 2017. The petitioners contend that the Schedule of Rates (SOR) and Bill of Quantities (BOQ) for these contracts were not updated to incorporate applicable GST. This has resulted in an unforeseen additional tax burden on ongoing contracts, especially for those awarded prior to GST, where West Bengal VAT was previously applicable. The petitioners seek neutralization of this impact and updating of the State SOR to include GST.
Held
The High Court disposed of the writ petition by granting liberty to the petitioners to file an appropriate representation before the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Government of West Bengal, within four weeks. The Additional Chief Secretary is directed to take a final decision on this representation within four months of its receipt, after consulting all relevant departments and providing an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner or their authorized representatives. The Court emphasized that the Additional Chief Secretary must pass a reasoned and speaking order on merit, considering all judgments of different High Courts that the petitioners intend to rely upon. Until a final decision is taken, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner. The Court also noted that if the representation is not filed within the stipulated time, the order would have no force. The specific issues regarding the bearing of additional tax liability and the updating of SOR were not directly decided by the Court but were remitted for consideration by the Additional Chief Secretary.
Key Issues
1. Whether the respondents are liable to bear the additional tax liability for the execution of government contracts awarded in the pre-GST or post-GST regime where the Schedule of Rates (SOR) and Bill of Quantities (BOQ) were not updated to include applicable GST? 2. Whether the respondents should neutralize the impact of unforeseen additional tax burden on government contracts since the introduction of GST on July 1, 2017, for ongoing contracts awarded before that date? 3. Whether the State SOR should be updated to incorporate applicable GST in lieu of inapplicable West Bengal VAT for future contracts? Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioners argued that the failure to update the SOR and BOQ to reflect GST has imposed an additional and unforeseen tax burden on them for executing government contracts. They sought relief to neutralize this impact and ensure that the State SOR is updated to include GST, replacing the now inapplicable West Bengal VAT. State's Arguments: The judgment records that the State was represented by learned counsel, but their specific arguments are not detailed in the provided text.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
WPA 22044 OF 2023 19.09.2023
Sl no. 10
Asha Alpana Enterprise & Anr. Ct no. 2
- Vs - P.M.
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Himangshu Kumar Ray,
Ms. Shiwani Shaw
… for the petitioner Mr. Anirban Ray, Ld. Govt. Pleader Md. T. M. Siddiqui, Mr. T. Chakraborty, Mr. S. Sanyal
… for the State
Affidavit-of-service filed in court be kept with the record.
Heard learned Counsel appearing for the parties. This writ petition has been filed for the relief by way of direction upon the respondents authority concerned to bear the additional tax liability for execution of subsisting Government contracts either awarded in the pre-GST regime or in the post GST regime without updating the Schedule of Rates (SOR) incorporating the applicable GST while preparing Bill of Quantities (BOQ) for inviting the bids. The petitioner has also prayed for relief of issuance of direction upon the respondents authority concerned to neutralize the impact of unforeseen additional tax burden on Government contracts since the introduction of GST w.e.f. 1st July, 2017 for ongoin
The judgment continues below.
Read the full judgment
A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.
The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.
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.