Rays Power Infrastructure Private Limited Vs Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Karnataka High Court)
In Rays Power Infrastructure Private Limited vs Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, the Karnataka High Court dealt with a writ petition challenging an order dated 08.12.2023 passed under Section 73(9) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner had initially sought to challenge the constitutional validity of Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST/SGST Acts but later restricted its relief to setting aside the impugned order and seeking reconsideration of its reply.
The petitioner, a registered dealer engaged in supply of electrical transformers, structures, and related services, was issued a show cause notice dated 31.03.2023. The petitioner submitted a reply on 10.11.2023. However, the adjudicating authority passed an order determining tax, interest, and penalty without properly considering the reply. The order merely stated that the reply was general in nature and not tenable.
The Court observed several procedural deficiencies. It noted inconsistency in the issuing authority, as the order appeared to be issued by the Assistant Commissioner but was signed by a Commercial Tax Officer. It further observed that the contents of the petitioner’s reply were merely reproduced without any analysis. Importantly, the authority failed to consider the specific contentions raised and did not provide any reasoning for rejecting them.
