M/S Raj Cars vs. The State Of Madhya Pradesh

Held

The High Court held that the writ petition is not maintainable before it. The Court reasoned that the petitioner has an alternative statutory remedy of appeal available before the GST Tribunal, as established under Section 112 of the Goods and Services Tax Act. The Court further noted that the GST Tribunal has commenced functioning at Bhopal and that the Government has granted a special dispensation allowing assessees to approach the Tribunal up to 31/7/2026, even for appeals that might have faced limitation issues. Therefore, the writ petition was dismissed with liberty granted to the petitioner to avail the aforementioned remedy before the GST Tribunal.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Raj Cars, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh challenging an order dated 24/3/2025 passed by respondent No. 2. This order dismissed the petitioner's appeal on the grounds of limitation. The petitioner was aggrieved by this dismissal. The Court noted that the impugned order is appealable before the GST Tribunal, which has commenced functioning at Bhopal. The Government had extended the limitation period for assessees to approach the Tribunal until 31/7/2026.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable before this Court when an alternative remedy of appeal to the GST Tribunal is available, as per Section 112 of the Goods and Services Tax Act? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner has approached this Court by way of a writ petition. The judgment does not record any specific argument from the petitioner regarding the maintainability of the writ petition or the availability of the alternative remedy. Revenue's contention: The learned Government Advocate for the respondent/State would likely argue that the writ petition is not maintainable due to the existence of an alternative statutory remedy before the GST Tribunal, as provided under Section 112 of the GST Act.