Sachidanand Pandey vs. The State Of Bihar

Facts

The petitioner, Sachidanand Pandey, filed a writ petition before the Patna High Court seeking various reliefs related to GST payments, penalties, and interest. Specifically, the petitioner challenged orders passed by the Joint Commissioner of State Tax (Respondent No. 3) and sought directions for the Executive Engineer, Command Kshetra Vikash Pramandal (Respondent No. 2) to pay the full rate of GST after deducting only 2% TDS as per the works contract agreement. The petitioner also prayed for a declaration that they are not liable to pay GST tax, penalty, and interest. The State submitted that the case was covered by a previous judgment of the High Court in M/s Jai Bhawani Construction Vs. The Union of India and Ors. and a subsequent letter issued by the Engineer-in-Chief.

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition by directing Respondent No. 2, the Executive Engineer, Kamand Kshetra Vikash Pramandal, Bhabhua Kaimur, to consider and decide the petitioner's case. This decision was to be made in terms of the judgment and order dated 05.07.2019 in M/s Jai Bhawani Construction Vs. The Union of India and Ors. and the letter No. 5405 dated 30.07.2019. The Court explicitly clarified that all issues of fact and law were left open for consideration by Respondent No. 2. The Court expressed hope and expectation that Respondent No. 2 would decide the petitioner's case expeditiously, preferably within four months from the date of receipt of the order. The operative direction was to remand the matter for fresh consideration by the specified authority.

Key Issues

1. Whether the orders contained in Annexures-8, 10 series, passed by the Joint Commissioner of State Tax (Respondent No. 3) are illegal, void, and without jurisdiction, as argued by the petitioner. 2. Whether the petitioner is liable to pay GST tax, penalty, and interest, or whether the respondents (specifically Respondent No. 2 and Respondent No. 4) should pay the GST, as contended by the petitioner. 3. Whether the Executive Engineer, Command Kshetra Vikash Pramandal (Respondent No. 2) is obligated to pay the full rate of GST after deducting only 2% TDS on the works value as per the agreement, as argued by the petitioner. The State argued that the matter is covered by the judgment in M/s Jai Bhawani Construction Vs. The Union of India and Ors. and a subsequent letter dated 30.07.2019. The State had no objection to the matter being remanded to the appropriate authority for consideration on its merits.