Ms Galaxy Trading Co vs. Principal Commissioner CGST & Ors.

Facts

The petitioners, M/s Galaxy Trading Co. and M/s Bright Enterprises, filed writ petitions before the Delhi High Court. The specific tax periods and the orders or actions under challenge, as well as the authorities who passed them, are not detailed in the judgment. The amount in dispute is also not specified. The procedural history relevant to the core dispute is not elaborated upon. The petitions were filed seeking relief from the High Court.

Held

The Court allowed the petitioners to withdraw their respective writ petitions. The Court further directed that if an application is filed by the petitioners under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963, seeking exclusion of the period during which the writ petitions remained pending, the same shall be considered by the Competent Authority. The reasoning for allowing the withdrawal is to enable the petitioners to pursue their remedy before the newly constituted GST Appellate Tribunal. The Court did not delve into the merits of the underlying GST dispute, as the petitions were disposed of on a procedural ground. The principle established is that High Courts may permit withdrawal of writ petitions to pursue statutory remedies before specialized tribunals, with a direction for the competent authority to consider the exclusion of time spent in the High Court under Section 14 of the Limitation Act.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners are entitled to withdraw their writ petitions to file an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal, and if so, whether the period during which the writ petitions were pending can be excluded for the purpose of limitation under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner sought permission to withdraw the writ petitions to pursue an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal. They implicitly sought consideration for the exclusion of the period the writ petitions were pending, as indicated by the subsequent court order. Revenue's contention: The judgment does not record any specific contention from the respondents (Principal Commissioner CGST & Ors.) regarding the withdrawal or the application of Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963. The respondent in W.P.(C) 14573/2026 was noted as 'None'.