Joint Commissioner Of State Taxes And Excise (South Enforcement Zone) Parwanoo vs. M/S Punjab National Bank And Anr
Held
The Court held that while the writ petition was entertained initially because the GST Appellate Tribunal was not functional at the time of filing, the Tribunal has since been established and is now operational. Consequently, the statutory remedy of appeal under Section 112 of the CGST Act is available to the petitioner. The Court did not decide the merits of the case. Instead, it disposed of the writ petition with liberty granted to the petitioner to avail the appropriate remedy by filing an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal. The petitioner was directed to file this appeal within a reasonable time, on or before 30.06.2026.
Facts
The petitioner, the Joint Commissioner of State Taxes & Excise, filed a writ petition before the Himachal Pradesh High Court challenging an order dated 30.05.2024 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), H.P. Goods and Services Tax-cum-Divisional Commissioner, Shimla. This appellate order was passed in an appeal preferred by the respondent against an earlier order dated 05.04.2023, issued by the Joint Commissioner of State Taxes & Excise (South Enforcement Zone), Parwanoo. The petitioner sought to assail the order passed under Section 107 of the H.P. Goods and Services Tax, 2017.
Key Issues
1. Whether the High Court has jurisdiction to entertain a writ petition against an order passed under Section 107(1) of the H.P. Goods and Services Tax, 2017, when a further appeal under Section 112 of the CGST Act is available before the GST Appellate Tribunal? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that the writ petition was maintainable because at the time of filing, the GST Appellate Tribunal was not functional. The petitioner relied on the principle that writ petitions are entertained when alternative remedies are unavailable. Respondents' Contention: The respondents implicitly argued that the statutory remedy of appeal under Section 112 of the CGST Act was the appropriate recourse, and the writ petition was not the correct forum, especially now that the Tribunal is functional.
Sections Cited
Section 107, Section 112
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
2026:HHC:19526 IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA CWP No. 15322 of 2025. Date of decision: 25.05.2026. _____________________________________________________________________________ Joint Commissioner of State Taxes & Excise ...Petitioner. Versus M/s Punjab National Bank and Another …Respondents. ____________________________________________________________________________
Coram Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vivek Singh Thakur, Judge. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Sharma, Judge.
Whether approved for reporting? 1 _____________________________________________________________________________ For the Petitioner. Mr. Anup Rattan, Advocate General with Mr. Raj Negi, Deputy Advocate General and Mr. Shalabh Thakur, Assistant Advocate General. For the Respondents: Mr. Vishal Mohan, Senior Advocate with Mr. Praveen Sharma, Advocate, for respondent No.
Mr. Vijay Kumar Arora, Senior Advocate (through video conferencing) with Ms. Godawari, Mr. Gaurav Kumar, Mr. Hitansh Raj and Ms. Avantika Bhandari, Advocates, for respondent No. 2. __________________________________________________________ Vivek Singh Thakur, Judge Present petition has been preferred by the peti
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