M/S Arihant Metallic World vs. Assistant Commissioner Of State Tax, Bureau Of Investigation ( South Bengal) And Ors
Facts
The petitioner, M/s. Arihant Metallick World, challenged an order passed by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Bureau of Investigation (South Bengal) Barrackpore Zone, dated January 31, 2022. The petitioner contended that the order was passed in violation of the principles of natural justice because they were not provided with copies of documents used against them. The State's counsel could not contradict this assertion. The impugned order was adverse to the petitioner's interest.
Held
The High Court held that the impugned order dated January 31, 2022, was passed in violation of the principles of natural justice. The Court found that the petitioner was not provided with copies of documents that were used against them, and the State's counsel could not deny this fact. Consequently, the Court set aside the impugned order. The matter was remanded back to the concerned authority to pass a fresh, reasoned, and speaking order in accordance with the law, ensuring adherence to the principles of natural justice. This fresh order is to be passed within eight weeks from the date of communication of the Court's order. The Court did not delve into the merits of the adjudication order itself.
Key Issues
1. Whether the impugned order dated January 31, 2022, passed by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Bureau of Investigation (South Bengal) Barrackpore Zone, is liable to be set aside on the grounds of violation of the principles of natural justice, specifically for non-supply of documents used against the petitioner? The petitioner argued that the principles of natural justice were violated as they were denied copies of documents relied upon by the authority to pass an adverse order. The petitioner's counsel submitted that this fact was evident from the record and could not be refuted by the State's counsel. The State did not present any counter-argument to this specific contention.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
07-03-2022 Item No.20 Subrata IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Constitutional Writ Juri iction Appellate Side WPA No.2753 of 2022 M/s. Arihant Metallick World -vs- Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Bureau of Investigation (South Bengal) Barrackpore Zone & Ors.
Mr. Sandip Choraria Mr. Rajkumar Banerjee …for the petitioner Mr. A. Ray Md. T.M. Siddiqui Mr. D. Ghosh Mr. N. Chatterjee …for the State Heard learned advocates appearing for the parties.
In this writ petition, petitioner has challenged the impugned order of the State GST authorities dated January 31, 2022 on the grounds of violation of principles of natural justice by not providing copies of the documents which has been used against the petitioner in passing the impugned order which is adverse to its interest, and this fact is established from record which learned advocate for the State could not contradict.
Considering the submission of the parties and without going into the merits of the adjudication order, the aforesaid impugned order dated January 31, 2022 is set aside on the grounds of violation of principles of natural justice and the matter is remanded back to the auth
The judgment continues below.
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