Baazar Style Retail Limited & Anr. Vs Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
State GST Department not empowered to initiate proceedings when Central GST Department has already initiated the proceedings on same subject matter
Summary: In the case of Baazar Style Retail Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (W.P.A. No. 16185 of 2024), the Calcutta High Court addressed the issue of whether the State GST Department is empowered to initiate proceedings when the Central GST Department has already taken action on the same subject matter. The petitioner, Baazar Style Retail Ltd., challenged a show-cause notice and subsequent order issued by the State GST Department regarding the financial year 2018-2019, arguing that the Central GST Department had already initiated proceedings on the same subject matter. The petitioner had participated in the proceedings initiated by the Central GST Department, which included a show-cause-cum-demand notice issued on September 30, 2022.
The Court examined Section 6(2)(b) of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (WBGST Act), which stipulates that once proceedings have been initiated by either the Central or State GST authorities on the same subject matter, no further proceedings shall be initiated by the other department. The Court found that since the Central GST Department had already issued a show-cause notice and initiated proceedings, the State GST Department’s actions, including the show-cause notice dated December 27, 2023, and the subsequent order dated April 27, 2024, were not maintainable. The Court set aside the notice and order issued by the State GST Department, thus quashing the proceedings initiated by them.
