Tvl Sri Ganesh Agencies vs. The State Tax Officer

Held

The Court, while acknowledging the respondent's arguments regarding the time-barred nature of the writ petition and the appellate remedy, exercised its discretion in favour of the petitioner, finding that the petitioner might have a case on merits. The Court quashed the impugned assessment order dated 22.12.2023. The case was remitted back to the respondent for a fresh assessment. The petitioner was directed to deposit 25% of the disputed tax to the credit of the respondent from its Electronic Cash Register within 30 days. The impugned order was to be treated as an addendum to the show cause notices. The petitioner was to file a reply within 30 days of receiving the order, along with the deposit. The respondent was directed to pass a fresh order on merits after hearing the petitioner, preferably within two months thereafter. No issue was expressly left undecided.

Facts

The petitioner, Tvl. Sri Ganesh Agencies, filed a writ petition challenging an assessment order dated 22.12.2023 passed by the respondent, The State Tax Officer, for the assessment year 2017-18. The impugned order was preceded by notices in Form GST DRC 01A and Form GST DRC 01. The petitioner claims to be a small-scale operator unaware of the notices posted on the GST common portal and the subsequent order. The respondent contended that the writ petition was time-barred due to the petitioner's latches and that the appellate remedy was also time-barred under Section 107 of the GST enactments.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable on grounds of latches and being time-barred, considering the petitioner's alleged unawareness of notices and the assessment order, and the respondent's reliance on Supreme Court decisions in Assistant Commissioner (CT) LTU, Kakinada vs. Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Health Care Limited and Singh Enterprises vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Jamshedpur? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner, a small-scale operator, was unaware of the notices and the impugned order, which were sent to the GST common portal. They sought to have the assessment order quashed and the proceedings redone. Respondent's contention: The writ petition is hopelessly time-barred and suffers from latches, making it liable for dismissal. The appellate remedy is also time-barred under Section 107 of the GST enactments.