Anmol Granites vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court held that there was no merit in the writ petition. It reasoned that a coordinate bench of the Rajasthan High Court had already considered and repelled an identical challenge to the leviability of GST on royalty in the case of Sudarshan Lal Gupta. Despite the petitioner's contention that the earlier decision failed to correctly interpret a Supreme Court judgment and that the issue is pending before a larger bench of the Supreme Court, the Court stated it was not inclined to take a different view. The Court did not explicitly decide on the interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment or the pending Supreme Court matter but relied on the precedent set by its own coordinate bench. The operative direction was to dismiss the writ petition.

Facts

The petitioner, Anmol Granites, through its authorized signatory, filed a writ petition challenging orders/notices issued by the respondent department demanding Goods and Services Tax (GST) on royalty collected by the petitioner. This challenge was identical to one previously considered by a Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur in the case of Sudarshan Lal Gupta vs. Union of India & Ors. The petitioner argued that the Jaipur Bench's decision in Sudarshan Lal Gupta failed to correctly interpret a Supreme Court judgment in State of Assam vs. Barak Upatyaka D.U. Karmachari Sanstha. The petitioner also noted that the issue of GST on royalty is pending before a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the case of Mineral Area Development Authority etc. & Ors. vs. M/s. Steel Authority of India & Ors.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur Bench, correctly interpreted the Supreme Court judgment in State of Assam vs. Barak Upatyaka D.U. Karmachari Sanstha while repelling the challenge to the demand of GST on royalty in the case of Sudarshan Lal Gupta? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that the Division Bench in Sudarshan Lal Gupta erred in its interpretation of the Supreme Court's decision in State of Assam vs. Barak Upatyaka D.U. Karmachari Sanstha, and therefore, the current writ petition should be accepted. The petitioner also highlighted that the broader issue of GST on royalty is pending before a larger bench of the Supreme Court. Respondents' Contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondents. However, it notes that a coordinate bench had previously repelled a similar challenge.