M/S Amrit Cement Limited vs. The Joint Commissioner Of Central Goods And Service Tax.

Held

The Court granted the petitioner's request to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to challenge the impugned order before the Appellate Authority, the Commissioner (Appeals) GST at Guwahati. The Court explicitly stated that it had not gone through the merits of the matter and that all points and contentions of both parties were expressly kept open. The Court directed that if the petitioner files an appeal within two weeks from the date of the order, the appellate authority shall dispose of it in accordance with law within four weeks of filing, after providing an opportunity of hearing to both sides. The ratio decidendi is that a party can withdraw a writ petition to pursue a statutory remedy, and the court will not adjudicate on the merits in such a scenario.

Facts

M/s Amrit Cement Limited (the petitioner) filed a writ petition before the High Court of Meghalaya challenging an order passed by the Joint Commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax. The petitioner's counsel, at the outset of the hearing, sought leave to withdraw the petition. The stated reason for withdrawal was to challenge the impugned order before the Appellate Authority, specifically the Commissioner (Appeals) GST at Guwahati. The Court granted the leave to withdraw.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be granted leave to withdraw the writ petition to pursue the appellate remedy before the Commissioner (Appeals) GST. The petitioner argued that they wished to withdraw the petition to avail the statutory remedy of appeal before the designated appellate authority. The revenue did not record any specific arguments against the withdrawal.