Case Law Details
B.D Tea Estates Pvt. Ltd. Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Petitioner’s sole contention for avoiding the statutory alternative remedy of Appeal before the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal against the impugned order of the first Appellate authority which it has voluntarily chosen at the first instance to challenge the assessment order in question, mainly are that alternative remedy is no bar in invoking constitutional writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India since there is erroneous interpretation of law by the assessing officer in passing the assessment order in question and wrong interpretation of law is a pure question of law and secondly that it is aggrieved by the method of computation of income adopted by the assessing officer in the assessment while determining the Agricultural Income Tax and contends that even though it may not have challenged the said assessment order before this Writ Court at the first instance and had gone to the first Appellate authority against the said assessment order in question and in spite of availability of further Appellate forum of West Bengal Taxation Tribunal against the impugned order of the first Appellate authority and there may not be any bar for the said Tribunal in adjudicating the issue involved and in granting the nature of relief asked for by it in the instant Writ Petition, still it can further challenge the impugned order of the first Appellate authority before the Writ Court instead of approaching the Tribunal. In support of its such contention, it relies on the following judgments:
a) Aircel Ltd. v. Commercial Tax Officer [WP (Civil) Nos. 1055 and 1057 of 2013]; [2016 (56) GST 306 (SC)]
b) UOI v. State of Haryana [2000 (10) SCC 482] @ p.3
c) Magadh Sugar and Energy Ltd. v. State of Bihar & Ors. [2021 SCC OnLine SC 801] @ para 29 (issue of jurisdiction is a pure question of law)
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