Manoj Kumar Jain vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court dismissed the writ petition. The primary reason for dismissal was the Supreme Court's judgment in Civil Appeal No.10177 of 2018, Union of India vs. Hind Energy and Coal Benefication (India Ltd.) and connected matters, decided on 3rd October 2018. The Supreme Court, in that case, had examined and affirmed the validity of the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017. Since the present petition raised the very same question regarding the validity of the Act, the High Court held that the Supreme Court's decision was binding and directly applicable. Consequently, the challenge to the Act and the related provisions was rejected. The Court noted the repeated absence of the petitioners' counsel. No specific issue was left undecided; the petition was disposed of based on the binding precedent.

Facts

The petitioners, Manoj Kumar Jain and Sushil Kumar Verma, sought a declaration that Section 8 of the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017, and the Goods and Services Tax Compensation Rules, 2017, along with Notification No.1/2017-Compensation Cess (Rate) dated 28th June 2017, were unconstitutional, oppressive, and ultra vires. They argued that these provisions should not apply to coal stocks purchased before June 2017, on which they had already paid Clean Energy Cess under the Finance Act, 2010. They prayed for a direction to the respondents (Union of India and Chairman, GST Council) not to demand additional levy on these pre-June 2017 coal stocks. The petitioners' counsel was repeatedly absent.

Key Issues

1. Whether Section 8 of the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017, and the associated Rules and Notification dated 28th June 2017 are unconstitutional, oppressive, and ultra vires, and thus not applicable to coal stocks purchased prior to June 2017 on which Clean Energy Cess was already paid under the Finance Act, 2010? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioners argued that the impugned provisions of the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017, and related rules/notifications were unconstitutional and oppressive, and should not be applied to their coal stocks purchased before the GST regime, as they had already discharged their tax liability under the previous law (Finance Act, 2010). They sought to be exempted from the additional levy under the new regime for these pre-existing stocks. Respondent's Contention: The respondents placed reliance on the Supreme Court's judgment in Civil Appeal No.10177 of 2018 (Union of India vs. Hind Energy and Coal Benefication (India Ltd.) and connected matters), which had affirmed the validity of the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017.