IRISH Health Care Vs Appellate Deputy Commissioner (ST) (GST) (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court recently addressed a writ petition filed by IRISH Health Care concerning an alleged overlap of jurisdiction between Central and State GST authorities. The petitioner challenged an order from the State Authority dated April 30, 2024, for the assessment year 2018-19. This order followed a show cause notice issued on February 1, 2023, to which the petitioner had responded.
IRISH Health Care contended that a Central Authority had also issued an order on December 5, 2023, related to the same dispute, covering the tax period from July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018. The petitioner had subsequently filed an appeal against the Central Authority’s order on May 10, 2024.
However, the Court found no merit in the petitioner’s claim of overlapping jurisdiction, noting that the Central Authority’s order and the State Authority’s impugned order pertained to distinct actions or assessments, despite some temporal proximity.
While rejecting the jurisdiction overlap argument, the Court provided partial relief to the petitioner. Acknowledging that the petitioner’s reply to the show cause notice was mentioned but not thoroughly discussed in the impugned order, the Court quashed the State Authority’s order. This relief is conditional upon IRISH Health Care depositing 25% of the disputed tax within 30 days. The petitioner is also required to submit an additional reply to the show cause notice.
