Ms Yug Infrastructures Private Limited vs. The Assistant Commissioner

Held

The High Court held that it was not inclined to examine the validity of the order dated 22.08.2024 without the petitioner having availed the statutory remedy of appeal. The court reasoned that the order was appellable under Section 107 of the Act. Therefore, the writ petition was disposed of with liberty granted to the petitioner to avail the statutory remedy of appeal. The ratio decidendi is that writ jurisdiction should not be exercised when an equally efficacious alternative remedy is available to the aggrieved party, particularly when the statute provides a clear appellate mechanism. The court did not decide on the merits of the impugned order.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Yug Infrastructures Private Limited, filed a writ petition before the Uttarakhand High Court challenging an order dated 22.08.2024. This order was passed by the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax Department, Rishikesh, Dehradun, in exercise of powers under Section 73(9) of the Central/Uttarakhand Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The order pertains to the financial year 2019-20. The amount in dispute is not specified in the judgment. The procedural history is limited to the filing of the writ petition after the impugned order was issued.

Key Issues

1. Whether the High Court should entertain a writ petition challenging an order passed under Section 73(9) of the CGST/SGST Act, 2017, when a statutory remedy of appeal is available under Section 107 of the Act. The petitioner's contention was not recorded in the judgment. The respondent's contention, as implicitly understood from the court's reasoning, was that the petitioner ought to exhaust the statutory remedy of appeal before approaching the High Court under its writ jurisdiction. The court's decision hinges on the availability of the appellate mechanism provided by the statute.