M/S Ampl Resources PVT. LTD., Through Sri Om Prakash Pareek, Authorised Signatory vs. The State Of Jharkhand

Held

The Court held that the petitioner has an alternate and efficacious remedy of appealing before the Tribunal against the impugned order. Consequently, the Court granted the petitioner leave to withdraw the writ petition with the liberty to appeal the impugned order before the GST Tribunal. The Court explicitly left all contentions of all parties on merits open to be considered by the Tribunal, should the petitioner file an appeal. The Court also directed that if the appeal is filed within four weeks, the Tribunal should decide it on its own merits and in accordance with law, without considering the issue of limitation. This decision was based on the petitioner bona fide pursuing the writ petition and a prior issue relating to the functioning of the Tribunal.

Facts

M/s AMPL Resources Pvt. Ltd. (formerly M/s. Ambey Mining Private Limited) filed a writ petition before the Jharkhand High Court challenging an order. The petitioner, represented by Sri Om Prakash Pareek, had its registered office in West Bengal and a place of business in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The respondents included the State of Jharkhand, the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, the Additional Commissioner of State Tax (Appeal), and the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax. The specific order or tax period under challenge, and the amount in dispute, are not explicitly stated in the judgment. The procedural history indicates that the petitioner approached the High Court via a writ petition.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner has an alternate and efficacious remedy of appeal before the Tribunal against the impugned order? The petitioner argued that they sought to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to file an appeal before the GST Tribunal. The respondents did not present any arguments as the petitioner sought to withdraw the petition. The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondents.