Case Details: Baijnath Timber Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. Versus Assistant Commissioner, State Tax Department (2025) 34 Centax 38 (Cal.)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
- Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.
- S/Shri Md. T.M. Siddiqui, Sr Adv., Tanoy Chakraborty, S. Shaw & Saptak Sanyal, for the Appearing Parties
Facts of the Case
The Assessee filed a writ petition following the issuance of a notice under GST DRC-01A, seeking inter alia a declaration that section 16(2)(c) of the GST Act and the West Bengal GST Act are unconstitutional, and the petition was admitted for hearing. The assessee contended that no GST proceedings could be initiated while the writ petition was pending. The State/Revenue filed an application seeking liberty to proceed against the assessee, asserting that the writ admission should not restrict ongoing GST proceedings. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court.
High Court Held
The High Court held that mere admission of the writ petition, without the grant of any interim order, does not restrain the State/Revenue from proceeding under the relevant GST provisions. The Court observed that there was no injunction preventing the respondents from taking action, and therefore, the application filed by the State/Revenue seeking liberty to proceed was unfounded. The Court clarified that in law, the department is fully authorised to continue GST proceedings, and no writ admission could restrain them.
