M/S Jagdish Kumar Sehgal vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors

Held

The Court held that there was no warrant for interference with the recovery notice as the petitioner did not dispute the GST liability. Regarding the prayer for an installment schedule, the Court found no provision in law to support such a request. Consequently, the Court dismissed the petition. The ratio decidendi is that a writ court will not interfere with recovery proceedings when the liability is not disputed, and no statutory provision exists for granting installment facilities for tax payments. The operative direction was the dismissal of the petition.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Jagdish Kumar Sehgal, a government contractor, filed a writ petition challenging a recovery notice dated 12.06.2019 issued by the Garrison Engineer (West), Military Engineer Services (MES) Department, Ferozepur Cantt. The petitioner had completed a work order in October 2018 and received a completion certificate and final bill payment. The recovery notice pertained to the deposit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) related to the executed work and paid bill. The petitioner's counsel did not dispute the liability for GST deposit.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Court should interfere with the recovery notice for GST deposit when the petitioner does not dispute the liability, as per Article 226 of the Constitution of India. 2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to an installment schedule for depositing the GST amount, despite no statutory provision supporting such a prayer. Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner sought quashing of the recovery notice and, alternatively, requested an installment schedule for depositing the GST amount to allow reasonable time for payment. Revenue's arguments: The judgment records no specific arguments from the revenue or the Garrison Engineer. However, the Court's decision implies that the revenue's position was that the recovery notice was valid and no installment schedule was permissible.