Apoorva Construction Co. Vs Commercial Tax Officer (Karnataka High Court)
Karnataka High Court recently dismissed a writ petition filed by Apoorva Construction Co., challenging a show cause notice issued by the Commercial Tax Officer under Section 73(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) and the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (KGST Act). The notice was issued to the petitioner regarding short payment of GST for the financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21. The petitioner argued that separate show cause notices should have been issued for each year, as they constituted different causes of action.
However, the Court found that the petitioner had an alternative and effective remedy available under Section 107 of the CGST Act, which pertains to filing an appeal with the appropriate appellate authority. Despite acknowledging that the issuance of a single notice for both financial years was erroneous, the Court held that the petitioner could seek relief by appealing to the appellate authority. Consequently, the writ petition was dismissed, but the petitioner was granted the liberty to file an appeal before the relevant authority. The Court also directed the respondents not to take any immediate action against the petitioner for a period of 30 days, providing time for filing the appeal. Furthermore, the appellate authority was instructed to decide the appeal impartially, without being influenced by the Court’s observations.
