Central GST Authority cannot initiate proceedings when State GST Authority has already initiated proceedings on same subject matter

Rajesh Mittal Vs Union of India (Gauhati High Court)

The Hon’ble Gauhati High Court in the case of Rajesh Mittal vs Union of India [WP(C) No. 371 of 2024 dated January 25, 2024] relying upon the provision of sub-clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the CGST Act”) stayed the proceeding initiated by the Revenue Department, thereby holding that, Central GST Authority should not have issued the SCN when State GST Authorities have already issued SCN on the same issue. The case delves into the jurisdictional conflict arising when both Central GST Authority and State GST Authority issue show cause notices (SCNs) on the same subject matter. Let’s delve deeper into the details and analysis of this significant judgment.

Facts:

The Revenue Department (“the Respondent”) served a Show Cause Notice dated December 01, 2023 issued by the State GST Authorities and December 27, 2023 issued by Central GST Authority,(“the SCN”) to Rajesh Mittal (“the Petitioner”), stating that the Petitioner had wrongly availed the input tax credit (“ITC”) thereby violating the provisions of Section 16 (4) of the CGST Act for which reply was filed by the Petitioner.

Held:

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