Anxiety That GST Officials Would Not Take Into Account, HC Ignores Writ Petition

The Rajasthan High Court’s Division Bench has dismissed a writ petition filed by Sodhani Sweets Private Limited, expressing concerns that the GST authorities do not take into consideration their reply filed by them.

The respondent authorities, in this case, include the Joint Commissioner of the Goods and Service Tax Council (GST Council), represented by its Special Secretary, and the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Commercial Tax Department, Government of Rajasthan.

A writ petition is a formal written order or direction issued by the court, which must be followed by the respective authority or individual. It is a means for individuals to seek immediate relief by appealing to the Supreme Court or High Courts.

Statutory provisions under Section 260A(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, Section 130 of the Customs Act, 1962, and Section 117 of the CGST Act, 2017 provide the affected party with the right to appeal before the High Court if they are dissatisfied with the directive issued by the Appellate Tribunal or the quasi-judicial authorities in the case of tax laws issues.

During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel requested the withdrawal of the writ petition at this stage and also asked for liberty to submit a reply to the Show Cause Notice.

As the counsel of the petitioner has presented the apprehension, the respondent authority would not consider the reply filed by the petitioner and without considering the submissions, would proceed to decide the same.

The Division Bench of the High Court, consisting of Chief Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava, noted that such apprehensions cannot be assumed at this stage. Nonetheless, they emphasised that it is both expected and necessary for the pleas presented by the petitioner in response to the GST Show Cause Notice to be thoroughly considered and addressed when reaching a decision.