Devshyam Steel Private Limited vs. State Of West Bengal And Anr
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, Devshyam Steel Private Limited, challenged a show-cause notice dated February 18, 2022, issued under Section 74 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner argued that the notice was time-barred and violated a circular dated November 5, 2019, from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (GST-Investigation). The show-cause notice provided seven days for the petitioner to make an objection or representation, a period that had expired. The petitioner approached the High Court without first submitting an objection to the issuing authority.
Held
The Court held that the writ petition was premature and not maintainable at the current stage. The reasoning was that the petitioner had an adequate alternative remedy by filing an objection or representation against the show-cause notice before the issuing authority. The Court noted that the notice itself provided an opportunity for the petitioner to raise their objections within seven days. The Court explicitly stated that it had not gone into the merits of the show-cause notice. The ratio decidendi is that writ petitions challenging show-cause notices are generally not entertained when an effective alternative remedy exists, and parties should exhaust such remedies first. The Court granted liberty to the petitioner to file an objection/representation within seven days from the date of the order. If filed, the respondent authority was directed to consider the representation in accordance with law, pass a reasoned and speaking order, and provide an opportunity of hearing.
Key Issues
1. Whether the writ petition challenging the show-cause notice is maintainable at this stage, given that the petitioner has an alternative remedy of filing an objection or representation before the issuing authority? The petitioner contended that the show-cause notice was time-barred and violated a circular of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (GST-Investigation) dated November 5, 2019. The petitioner argued that these grounds could be raised before the respondent authority. The State, through its counsel, implicitly argued that the petitioner should exhaust the alternative remedy available by filing an objection or representation before approaching the High Court, as the notice itself provided such an opportunity.
Sections Cited
Section 74
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
09-03-2022 Item No.24 Subrata IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Constitutional Writ Juri iction Appellate Side WPA No.3761 of 2022 Devshyam Steel Private Limited -vs- State of West Bengal & Ors. Mr. Neeraj Kumar Pandey Mr. S.M. Akhter …for the petitioner Mr. A. Ray Md. T.M. Siddiqui Mr. D. Ghosh …for the State Heard learned advocates appearing for the parties. In this writ petition, petitioner has challenged the impugned show-cause notice dated February 18, 2022 passed under section 74 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. I am not inclined to entertain this writ petition at this stage, since by the aforesaid impugned show-cause notice petitioner was given an opportunity to make an objection or representation against the same within seven days from the date of the impugned show-cause notice which has expired now. But the petitioner could have made objection or representation against the impugned show-cause notice and allowed the respondent authority concerned to take a decision on such representation/ objection before coming to this writ court. Petitioner submits that the impugned show-cause notice is time-barred and is in violation of a circular of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (GST- Investigation) dated November 5, 2019, but there is no bar
2 in raising all these issues before the respondent authority concerned who has issued the impugned show-cause notice. Considering the submission of the parties, I am not inclined to entertain this writ petition on the grounds of being premature and give liberty to the petitioner to file an objection/representation against the impugned show- cause notice within seven days from date; and if such objection/representation is filed by the petitioner within the time stipulated hereinabove, the respondent concerned shall consider such representation/objection in accordance with law and by passing a reasoned and speaking order, after giving the petitioner an opportunity of hearing or to its authorised representative. It is recorded that this court has not gone into the merits of the show-cause notice and that the respondent concerned shall be free to take appropriate decision on the objection/representation to be filed by the petitioner strictly in accordance with law. With the aforesaid observation and direction, WPA No.3761 of 2022 stands disposed of. [Md. Nizamuddin, J]
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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.