Hari Om Udyog Vs State of U P Through Its Principal Secretary And 3 Others (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court addressed a petition by Hari Om Udyog challenging notices issued by the State Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities. The petitioner argued that a show cause notice for a tax demand under Section 74 and Section 122 of the UPGST Act was invalid because the Central GST had already raised a similar demand for the same tax period (April 2018–March 2019). The petitioner’s counsel, Suyash Agrawal, contended that this constituted a jurisdictional bar under Section 6(2)(b) of the UPGST Act, which prevents a second authority from initiating proceedings when a competent officer has already done so.
The court, while not quashing the notices directly, provided a clear directive. It instructed the petitioner to reply to the show cause notice and ordered the State GST authorities to first consider the preliminary objection regarding jurisdiction. The court mandated that a personal hearing be granted to the petitioner specifically on this jurisdictional point before the authorities proceed with the substantive tax demand.
This ruling underscores the court’s stance on ensuring proper procedure and addressing jurisdictional conflicts upfront in GST matters, thereby preventing parallel proceedings by different tax authorities. No specific judicial precedents were cited in this particular order.
