Selwara Marble Mines Owner Sewa Sansthan vs. Union Of INDIA

Facts

The petitioner, Selwara Marble Mines Owner Sewa Sansthan, filed a writ petition challenging show cause notices and assessment orders issued by the GST Department. These notices raised a demand for GST on royalty paid to the Mining Department for mining leases. The petitioner is represented by Shri Rajendra Singh Chouhan. The respondents include the Union of India, the State of Rajasthan (through its Finance and Mines Departments), the Deputy Commissioner of Central GST, and the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax. The petitioner's counsel referred to a previous Division Bench order in Gayatri Mines And Minerals Vs. Union of India & Ors. (12.04.2023). The State's counsel argued that the issue had already been decided by this Court in Shree Basant Bhandar Int Udyog vs. UOI & Ors. (29.09.2022) and Sudershan Lal Gupta vs. Union of India & Ors. (27.09.2022). The petitioner's counsel did not dispute this.

Held

The Court dismissed the writ petition. The primary issue was whether the imposition of GST on royalty paid for mining leases was legally sustainable. The respondents argued that this issue had been conclusively decided by previous Division Bench judgments of the same High Court in Shree Basant Bhandar Int Udyog vs. UOI & Ors. and Sudershan Lal Gupta vs. Union of India & Ors. In these prior decisions, the Court had held that the action of the respondents in imposing GST on royalty was not liable to be interfered with. The petitioner's counsel conceded that the issue had indeed been decided in the cited cases and did not dispute the respondents' submissions. Consequently, following the precedent set in Sudershan Lal Gupta’s case and Shree Basant Bhandar Int Udyog’s case, the Court found no reason to deviate from its earlier findings and dismissed the present writ petition. No specific amount in dispute was mentioned, and no issues were left undecided.

Key Issues

1. Whether the imposition of GST on royalty paid for mining leases is liable to be interfered with by this Court? (Question of law) The petitioner contended that the show cause notices/assessment orders demanding GST on royalty paid for mining leases were under challenge. The petitioner's counsel referred to a previous order in Gayatri Mines And Minerals Vs. Union of India & Ors. (12.04.2023) as a basis for the present petition. The respondents, through the Senior Counsel and AAG, argued that the issue concerning the imposition of GST on royalty had already been decided by this Court in previous judgments, specifically citing DB Civil Writ Petition No.5678/2022 (Shree Basant Bhandar Int Udyog vs. UOI & Ors.) and DB Civil Writ Petition No.8109/2022 (Sudershan Lal Gupta vs. Union of India & Ors.), both decided in September 2022. They further argued that in Sudershan Lal Gupta’s case, the Court held that the action of the respondents in imposing GST on royalty was not liable to be interfered with.