Thekedar Pankaj Sharma Vs State of Rajasthan (Rajasthan High Court)
In the case of Thekedar Pankaj Sharma vs. State of Rajasthan, the Rajasthan High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging a tax order issued under Section 74 of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (RGST Act) and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act). The petitioner sought relief against a show cause notice dated 28.10.2022 and the final order dated 21.12.2022 directing payment of ₹88,446 towards service tax, interest, and penalty for the financial year 2017–18.
Despite raising several grounds in the writ petition, the High Court observed that the petitioner failed to pursue the statutory appellate remedy available under Section 107 of the RGST/CGST Acts. The appeal was neither filed within the prescribed limitation period nor within the extended period that could have been condoned by the appellate authority.
The Court cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Assistant Commissioner (CT) LTU, Kakinada & Ors. vs. Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Health Care Ltd., (2020) 19 SCC 681, as binding precedent. In that case, the apex court ruled that when an assessee fails to file an appeal within the statutory or condonable timeframe, they cannot invoke writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution merely to overcome procedural lapses. The Supreme Court emphasized that appellate remedies are statutory and failure to avail them cannot be excused unless principles of natural justice are clearly violated.
