M/S Rsd Natural Resourcews PVT LTD And Anr vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. RSD Natural Resources Private Ltd. & Anr, filed a writ petition challenging an order passed by a GST authority. The petitioner contended that they were denied an opportunity of hearing and could not file a statutory appeal due to the non-availability of the full text of the order on the GST Portal. The State respondents filed an affidavit asserting that the full text of the order was available on the portal before the writ petition was filed and that an opportunity of hearing was provided. The petitioner disputed the veracity of the documents submitted by the respondents. The disputed questions of fact involved the availability of the order and the opportunity of hearing.

Held

The Court held that the present writ petition could not be entertained due to disputed questions of fact. The Court noted that the petitioner had replied to the show-cause notice, and the respondents had annexed this reply to their affidavit. The petitioner had allowed the adjudication proceedings to be completed, resulting in an appealable order. The primary ground for not filing the statutory appeal, namely the non-availability of the full text of the order, was disputed by the respondents, who claimed it was uploaded. The Court acknowledged that the petitioner has a statutory remedy of appeal against the adjudication order. Therefore, the writ petition was dismissed. However, the Court granted liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal within four weeks, and the appellate authority was directed not to raise the issue of limitation.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner was denied an opportunity of hearing by the GST authority, a question of mixed law and fact turning on the principles of natural justice. 2. Whether the non-availability of the full text of the adjudication order on the GST Portal prevented the petitioner from filing a statutory appeal, a question of mixed law and fact. Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner argued that they were not given a proper opportunity of hearing and that the full text of the order was not available on the GST Portal, which hindered their ability to file an appeal. They also questioned the veracity of the documents submitted by the respondents. They relied on the principle that an appeal cannot be filed if the order is not accessible. Revenue/State's Arguments: The State respondents contended that the full text of the order was available on the GST Portal prior to the filing of the writ petition and that an opportunity of hearing was indeed provided to the petitioner. They annexed documents to support their claims.