Facts of the Case

M/s. Simon India Ltd. was the petitioner before the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack in W.P.(C) No. 26443 of 2022 against the CT & GST Officer, Cuttack II Circle and another. The order under consideration arose from I.A. No. 16424 of 2022.

During the hearing, learned Additional Standing Counsel appearing for the Department handed over in Court, with a copy to the learned Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioner, an office order dated 25 November 2022 issued by the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha.

The said office order extended the time up to 21 December 2022 for completion of the audit. In view of this development, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner sought leave of the Court to withdraw the application concerning compliance with the notice referred to as Annexure-4.

Issues Involved

The principal issues arising from the order were:

  1. Whether the interlocutory application required further adjudication after the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha extended the time for completion of the audit up to 21 December 2022.
  2. Whether the petitioner could be permitted to withdraw the application concerning compliance with the notice contained in Annexure-4 in view of the subsequent extension of time.
  3. What consequential order should be passed once the petitioner sought leave to withdraw the application.

Petitioner’s Arguments

The petitioner, represented by learned Senior Counsel, took note of the office order dated 25 November 2022 issued by the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha, whereby the time for completion of the audit had been extended till 21 December 2022.

In view of this subsequent development, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner sought leave to withdraw the present application for complying with the notice in Annexure-4. The order does not record any further detailed substantive arguments on behalf of the petitioner.

Respondent’s Arguments

The Department, through its learned Additional Standing Counsel, produced before the Court a copy of the office order dated 25 November 2022 issued by the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha.

The Department also supplied a copy of the said office order to the learned Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioner. The office order recorded the extension of time till 21 December 2022 for completion of the audit.

The High Court’s order does not record any additional detailed legal submissions or objections from the respondents regarding the petitioner’s request to withdraw the interlocutory application.

Court Order / Findings

The High Court noted that:

  • The Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha had issued an office order dated 25 November 2022.
  • Under that office order, the time for completion of the audit had been extended till 21 December 2022.
  • In view of this development, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner sought leave to withdraw the application concerning compliance with the notice in Annexure-4.

Accordingly, the High Court disposed of I.A. No. 16424 of 2022 as withdrawn.

Important Clarification

This order should be understood within its precise and limited scope:

  • The High Court did not record a final adjudication on the substantive merits of the underlying GST dispute in this interlocutory order.
  • The Court did not pronounce any detailed legal proposition on the validity or invalidity of the audit itself.
  • The immediate development before the Court was the production of the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha’s office order extending the time for completion of the audit till 21 December 2022.
  • Following that development, the petitioner sought withdrawal of the application concerning compliance with the notice in Annexure-4.
  • The application was therefore disposed of as withdrawn.
  • The order does not record any declaration that the underlying notice was quashed, set aside, or held invalid.
  • The order also does not record any detailed determination of tax liability, penalty, interest, or other substantive GST demand.

These distinctions are important because an order disposing of an application as withdrawn should not be presented as a final ruling on substantive issues that the Court did not actually decide.

Sections / Statutory Provisions Involved

No specific section of the CGST Act, OGST Act, or any other statute is expressly mentioned in the text of this order.

The matter concerns completion of an audit, an extension of time granted by the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha, and compliance with a notice referred to as Annexure-4. However, since the order itself does not expressly identify a statutory section, attributing a particular section to this decision would go beyond the recorded text of the Court’s order.

Link to download the order -

https://mytaxexpert.co.in/uploads/1783320833_1112compressed.pdf 

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