Avenue Supermarts Limited vs. The Deputy Commissioner

Held

The Court held that since the GST Tribunal has been constituted under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017, an equally efficacious remedy is available to the petitioner. Therefore, the Court was not inclined to exercise its extraordinary writ jurisdiction. The writ petitions were disposed of with liberty granted to the petitioner to file appeals before the GST Tribunal for adjudication on merits. All issues and contentions raised in the writ petitions were expressly kept open to be decided by the Tribunal. The time taken by the petitioner in pursuing the writ remedy before the High Court would not be computed for the purposes of limitation, provided the petitioner approached the Tribunal within 30 days of the instant order being uploaded.

Facts

The petitioner, Avenue Supermarts Limited, filed a writ petition seeking to quash an Order-in-Appeal dated 07.11.2024 and a Refund Rejection Order dated 09.02.2024. These orders, passed by the Appellate Authority and Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, Jaipur-II respectively, rejected the petitioner's refund claim of Rs. 82,62,436/- for January 2020. The respondents are the Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, Circle-D, Jaipur-II; the State of Rajasthan; and the Union of India. The writ petition was filed before the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur.

Key Issues

1. Whether the High Court should exercise its extraordinary writ jurisdiction when an equally efficacious remedy is available to the petitioner? The petitioner sought the quashing of the impugned orders rejecting their refund claim. The respondents, including the State Tax authorities and the Union of India, were represented. The core issue before the Court was whether to proceed with the writ petition on merits or to direct the petitioner to pursue an alternative remedy. The Court noted the constitution of the GST Tribunal under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017, which provides an alternative forum for adjudication.