Arjun Chettri Vs Union of India & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
In the case of Arjun Chettri vs Union of India & Ors., the petitioner, a registered taxpayer with multiple service tax registrations, challenged the duplicate tax demand for the period 2017-18. The petitioner was initially served with an Order-in-Original on 22.02.2023 for two service tax registrations, which was later followed by a similar order on 01.11.2023 for a third registration number. Both orders raised identical demands for the same transactions and period. The petitioner argued that the subsequent order was unjustified as it repeated the same liabilities, resulting in duplicative tax demands for the same transactions.
The petitioner had already appealed the earlier order before the appellate authority, but with the second order issued based on identical information, the matter was brought before the Calcutta High Court. The Revenue argued that no appeal had been filed against the later order and the petitioner had approached the court belatedly. However, the Court found that the second order was a duplicate of the first and could not be justified. The Court quashed the order dated 01.11.2023, ordering the unfreezing of the petitioner’s bank accounts and directing the authorities to reconsider the matter. It was also noted that the petitioner had made the necessary pre-deposit. The case illustrates the importance of ensuring that tax demands are not duplicated and that taxpayers are not subjected to procedural harassment.
