M/S. Akj Auto And Two Spares vs. The Commercial Tax Officer

Facts

The petitioner, M/s.AKJ Auto and Two Spares, represented by its Proprietor K.Jerald, filed a writ petition challenging an ex-parte order passed by the respondent, The Commercial Tax Officer, on 18.10.2024. The order was passed under GST DRC 07 Ref. No. ZD3310241215605. The petitioner contended that the order was without jurisdiction and in violation of statutory provisions. The appeal period for the impugned order had already expired.

Held

The Court acknowledged that the petitioner had suffered an ex-parte order and that the appeal period had expired. Instead of quashing the order outright, the Court granted the petitioner permission to file an appeal within thirty days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. This appeal is to be entertained without reference to the limitation period. As a condition for this relief, the petitioner is required to pay 10% of the disputed tax amount as pre-deposit. The Court explicitly stated that if the petitioner fails to remit the pre-deposit amount and/or file the appeal within the stipulated thirty days, the benefit of this order will stand automatically recalled. No specific finding was made on the jurisdictional or statutory violation arguments raised by the petitioner, as the matter was disposed of on procedural grounds.

Key Issues

1. Whether the ex-parte order dated 18.10.2024, issued by the Commercial Tax Officer, is liable to be quashed for being without jurisdiction and in violation of statutory provisions? The petitioner argued that the order suffered from jurisdictional defects and statutory non-compliance. The respondent did not present any specific arguments on the merits of the petitioner's claim regarding the validity of the order, as the Court focused on procedural relief.