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 pertains to government contracts, some awarded before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and some after. The petitioners contend that the Schedule of Rates (SOR) and Bill of Quantities (BOQ) for these contracts were not updated to include applicable GST. This has resulted in an unforeseen additional tax liability for the petitioners on ongoing contracts, particularly those awarded before July 1, 2017. They sought relief to neutralize this impact and update the State SOR to incorporate GST in lieu of the West Bengal VAT.

Held

The High Court disposed of the writ petition by granting the petitioner liberty to file an appropriate representation before the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Government of West Bengal. This representation should be filed within four weeks from the date of the order. Upon receipt, the Additional Chief Secretary is directed to take a final decision within four months. This decision-making process must include consulting with 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 act in accordance with the law, pass a reasoned and speaking order on merit, and consider all judgments of different High Courts that the petitioners intend to rely upon. No coercive action is to be taken against the petitioner until a final decision is reached. The Court did not decide the merits of the petitioners' claim for bearing the additional tax liability but provided a procedural path for its resolution.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners are entitled to a direction upon the respondents to bear the additional tax liability arising from the execution of government contracts awarded in the pre-GST regime or post-GST regime without updating the Schedule of Rates (SOR) and Bill of Quantities (BOQ) to incorporate applicable GST? Petitioner's arguments: The petitioners argued that the failure to update the SOR and BOQ to reflect GST has imposed an unforeseen additional tax burden on them for government contracts. They sought a direction for the authorities to bear this additional liability and to update the State SOR to include applicable GST, replacing the West Bengal VAT for ongoing contracts. Revenue/State's arguments: The judgment records that the learned counsel for the State appeared, but their specific arguments or contentions are not detailed in the provided text. Therefore, no arguments are recorded for the revenue or State.