M/S Interglobe Petrofer Through Proprietor Shabbir Hussain vs. The State Of Madhya Pradesh Through Department Of Commercial Tax

Held

The Court held that the writ petition was not maintainable due to the existence of an alternative efficacious remedy. The Court reasoned that Section 107 of the Central Goods & Service Tax Act, 2017, provides a clear avenue for appeal against orders of cancellation of GST registration. The petitioner's contention of non-awareness of the orders, due to non-uploading, was not sufficient to bypass the statutory remedy. The ratio decidendi is that statutory remedies must be exhausted before approaching the writ jurisdiction, unless exceptional circumstances warrant otherwise. The Court disposed of the petition with liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act before the Appellate Authority, along with an application for condonation of delay, which the authority is to consider and decide in accordance with law. No issue was expressly left undecided.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Interglobe Petrofer, through its proprietor Shabbir Hussain, filed a writ petition before the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore. The petition challenged two orders dated 03.08.2022 and 04.07.2023, which resulted in the cancellation of the petitioner's GST registration. The State, represented by the Department of Commercial Tax and others, raised a preliminary objection regarding the availability of an alternative efficacious remedy under Section 107 of the Central Goods & Service Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner contended that they were unaware of the orders as they had not been uploaded.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable in light of the availability of an alternative efficacious remedy under Section 107 of the Central Goods & Service Tax Act, 2017? The petitioner argued that the writ petition was maintainable because they were not aware of the orders cancelling their GST registration as these orders were not uploaded. The respondents (State) contended that a writ petition is not maintainable as an alternative statutory remedy of appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act is available and efficacious.