Eris Lifesciences LTD. vs. Union Of INDIA And 2 Ors.

Held

The Court allowed the petitioner's prayer to withdraw the writ petitions. The Court granted liberty to the petitioner to file the petitions afresh, if advised, to challenge the vires of Section 174(2) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. The Court noted that the vires of this provision had not been assailed in the present writ petitions. Consequently, the writ petitions were dismissed on withdrawal, with the aforementioned liberty granted to the petitioner. No decision was made on the merits of the original challenge, as the petitions were withdrawn.

Facts

The petitioners, Eris Lifesciences Ltd. and Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd., filed writ petitions before the Gauhati High Court. The petitions challenged certain actions or orders related to Goods and Services Tax (GST). The specific tax periods, amounts in dispute, and the authorities who passed the impugned orders are not detailed in the provided judgment excerpt. The procedural history indicates that the matters were listed for hearing before the High Court.

Key Issues

1. Whether Section 174(2) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, is ultra vires? (This issue was not explicitly raised in the original petitions but was sought to be introduced by the petitioner during the hearing). Petitioner's Contention: The learned counsel for the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the present writ petitions with liberty to file them afresh. The primary reason for this request was to challenge the vires of Section 174(2) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, a ground not assailed in the current petitions. Revenue's Contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments or contentions made by the respondents (Union of India and others, Commissioner of Goods and Service Tax, State of Assam) regarding the merits of the case or the petitioner's request. The learned ASGI appeared for the respondents.