State Tax Officer has No jurisdiction to Issue Communication Under Section 83 of GST Act; Bombay HC Disposes Writ Petition as STO Withdraws Communication [Read Order]

The High Court of Bombay has held that the State Tax Officer (STO) does not have the jurisdiction to issue communication under Section 83 of the Maharastra Goods and Services Tax (MGST) Act, 2017. The STO voluntarily withdrew the communication and Bombay HC disposed the Writ Petition in consequent to the withdrawal.

The writ petition was filed by Mr. Saket Agarwal, challenging the communication issued by the STO. The petitioner sought relief through the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, requesting the court to quash and set aside the communication.

The petitioner was represented by Mr. Bharat Raichandani and the respondent revenue was represented by Mr. Himanshu Takke, Mr. Manish Upadhye, Mr. Aman Kacheria, Mr. Rahul Agarwal and Ms. Jasmin Purani.

The communication issued by the STO was addressed to the Officer-In-Charge of the Central Depository Services (India) Ltd.

The Additional Government Pleader (AGP), Mr. Himanshu Takke, representing the State, informed the court that the STO lacked the proper jurisdiction to issue the communication under Section 83 of the MGST Act.

It was further stated that the STO had voluntarily withdrawn the communication. The bench accepted this statement and considered it as an acknowledgment of the lack of jurisdiction on the part of the STO.

The bench ordered that an immediate intimation of the withdrawal of the communication be sent to the Officer-In-Charge of the Central Depository Services (India) Ltd.

Additionally, the petitioner was instructed to inform CDS (India) Ltd. about the withdrawal of the communication and provide them with a copy of the court’s order.

The Court decided that since the communication in question was being withdrawn, further adjudication of the petition was unnecessary. Consequently, the writ petition was disposed of based on the statement made by the AGP.

It was also clarified that the Court has not expressed any opinion on any potential recovery proceedings that the respondents might initiate against M/s. Alba Asia Private Ltd. and its directors.

This case has been resolved in favour of the petitioner, but the revenue is at liberty to take any further actions or pursue alternative legal avenues in connection with M/s. Alba Asia Private Ltd. and its directors.

In result, the division bench comprising Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Jitendra Jain disposed the Writ Petition filed by the appellant in consequent to the withdrawal of the Communication under Section 83 of the GST Act by the STO.

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