Afcon Industrial Equipments vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, Afcon Industrial Equipments, challenged an order dated August 27, 2024, passed by respondent no. 3. This order rejected the petitioner's prayer and disallowed input tax credit (ITC) for January, February, and March of the financial year 2019-2020, amounting to Rs. 4,16,321/-. The respondent demanded this amount along with interest, citing ITC found reversible if availed. The petitioner contended that this action was bad in law and in violation of Section 118 of the Finance Act(02) of 2024. The West Bengal Goods and Services Tax authorities argued that the impugned order was appealable under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
Held
The Court observed that the impugned order dated August 27, 2024, was an appealable order under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Consequently, the Court directed the petitioner to prefer an appeal under the said provision. The Court did not delve into the merits of the petitioner's claim regarding the alleged violation of Section 118 of the Finance Act(02) of 2024 or the validity of the disallowance of ITC. The primary finding was that the statutory remedy of appeal was available and should be availed. The ratio decidendi is that when a clear statutory remedy of appeal is available, a writ petition is generally not maintainable, and the aggrieved party should exhaust the available appellate mechanism.
Key Issues
1. Whether the impugned order dated August 27, 2024, disallowing input tax credit for January, February, and March of the financial year 2019-2020, amounting to Rs. 4,16,321/-, is bad in law and in violation of Section 118 of the Finance Act(02) of 2024. The petitioner argued that the rejection of their prayer and the demand for tax with interest were unlawful. The revenue contended that the order was appealable under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, implying that the writ petition was not the appropriate remedy. The court had to decide if the petitioner's claim of violation of Section 118 of the Finance Act(02) of 2024 was valid or if the statutory remedy of appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, was to be pursued.
Sections Cited
Section 107, Section 118
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
11 jks 02.12.2024 WPA 27083 of 2024 Afcon Industrial Equipments Vs.
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Saikat Koley Mr. Kaustav Seal … … for the petitioner Mr. A. Ray Mr. Md. T. M. Siddiqui Mr. N. Chatterjee Mr. T. Chakraborty Mr. S. Sanyal … …for the State Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner states that the respondent no.3 has rejected the petitioner’s prayer by disallowing input in the month of January, February, and March for the financial year 2019-2020 amounting to Rs.4,16,321/- and demanded the said amount of tax with interest under the heading of ITC found reversible (if availed) which is bad in law and in violation of Section 118 of the Finance Act(02) of 2024.
Learned counsel appearing for the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax authorities submits that the order is an appealable order under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
Heard learned counsels for the parties and perused Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 as well as the impugned order dated 27th August, 2024. As this is an appealable order, an appeal should have been preferred by the assessee under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner is requested to prefer an appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. With the above observation WPA 27083 of 2024 is disposed of.
No order as to costs.
All parties shall act on the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court. (Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.) 2
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.