Hriday Kumar Das Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
In the case of Hriday Kumar Das Vs State of West Bengal & Ors., the Calcutta High Court dealt with a writ petition challenging the appellate authority’s order dated 31st May 2023, issued under Section 107 of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017. The petitioner had initially appealed against an order passed under Section 74 of the Act, related to the tax period from April 2019 to March 2020. The appellate authority had modified the original tax demand, taking into account the amounts recovered, pre-deposited taxes, and the utilization of Input Tax Credit. However, the petitioner claimed that the appellate authority erroneously calculated his tax liability. Given that the Appellate Tribunal has not yet been constituted, the petitioner approached the High Court for relief. The court acknowledged the petitioner’s statutory right to appeal and the lack of an available GST Appellate Tribunal, thus allowing the writ petition to proceed. As an interim measure, the court directed the petitioner to deposit 10% of the remaining disputed tax amount, in addition to what had already been paid under Section 107(6) of the Act. The court granted an unconditional stay on the tax demand in Form GST APL-04, dated 31st May 2023, pending the resolution of the writ petition. The respondents were given six weeks to file their affidavit-in-opposition, with the petitioner allowed four weeks to reply.
