Srei Equipment Finance Ltd. Vs Assistant Commissioner (Bombay High Court)
The Bombay High Court heard the petition filed by Srei Equipment Finance Ltd. challenging the order dated 25 February 2025, issued by the tax authorities concerning CGST dues for Assessment Year 2020–21. The petitioner was represented by Mr. Parth Badheka and Ms. Nikita Badheka, while Mr. Kantharia and Mr. Das appeared for the first respondent, and Ms. Bharucha appeared for the second respondent.
The petitioner contended that the issue was squarely covered by the Supreme Court’s decisions in Ghanashyam Mishra and Sons Private Limited v. Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. and Vaibhav Goel v. DCIT. Despite being requested earlier to obtain instructions, the respondents maintained that the impugned order was correct and that the petitioner had an alternate and efficacious remedy by way of appeal. However, the Court decided to entertain the petition given the peculiar facts of the case.
The record showed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against the petitioner under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, on 8 October 2021. A resolution order was subsequently passed on 11 August 2023. The Court observed that the respondents, who had later issued the impugned order and raised demands, had not intervened during the CIRP process or sought any relief therein.
