P G Exim Private Limited & Anr. Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court has set aside the orders of both the appellate and original adjudicating authorities in a GST dispute, remanding the matter for a fresh decision. The case, involving P.G. Exim Private Limited, highlighted a key issue: the company’s claim that an earlier proceeding against them had been dropped, a fact they were unaware of when they filed their statutory appeal.
The appeal arose from a demand for over Rs. 6.8 lakhs in disputed tax, which was challenged in a writ petition. While the single-judge bench had granted a stay on the demand, the company’s counsel requested that the entire matter be sent back to the original authority for a new hearing. The counsel argued that the appellate authority’s order was flawed because it had not reviewed the entire adjudication file. If it had, it would have discovered that the original show-cause proceedings had been dropped on December 11, 2023, under Section 73(7) of the GST Act.
The court noted that since nearly 75% of the disputed amount had already been recovered, the Revenue’s interest was protected. Agreeing that a fresh adjudication would be beneficial to both sides, the court set aside all previous orders. It directed the Assistant Commissioner to conduct a de novo proceeding, allowing the company to submit an additional reply with all relevant facts and figures. The court also specifically instructed the adjudicating authority to examine the effect of the earlier dropped proceedings and to afford the company a personal hearing. The amount already recovered will be treated as a deposit and will be subject to the final order. The court set a six-week timeline for the adjudicating authority to pass a new order.
