Facts of the Case

The petitioners, Suraj Kumar Pattanaik and SN Construction, Sambalpur, had approached the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack by way of a writ petition against the Commissioner, CT & GST, Odisha, and another opposite party, challenging action taken by the GST authorities. The matter was taken up through hybrid mode before the Acting Chief Justice and a companion judge, with Ms. Kananbala Roy Choudhury appearing for the petitioners and Mr. Sunil Mishra, Standing Counsel, appearing for the CT & GST Organization. During the course of hearing, before the merits of the challenge could be examined, the petitioners' counsel sought permission to withdraw the writ petition, reserving the petitioners' right to pursue the alternate remedy of a statutory appeal against the impugned action. The order does not otherwise set out the underlying facts of the tax dispute.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioners should be permitted to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to pursue the statutory appellate remedy available under the GST law, instead of having the writ petition adjudicated on merits.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Sought permission to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to prefer an appeal in accordance with law.
  • The withdrawal reflected the petitioners' election to pursue the alternative appellate remedy under the GST law rather than continue with the writ jurisdiction.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No specific objection is recorded on behalf of the Standing Counsel for CT & GST to the petitioners' request for withdrawal with liberty to appeal.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court permitted the petitioners to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to prefer an appeal in accordance with law.
  • The writ petition was accordingly disposed of as withdrawn, without any adjudication on the merits of the underlying grievance against the Commissioner, CT & GST, Odisha.

Important Clarification

  • Withdrawal of a writ petition with liberty to appeal preserves the taxpayer's right to challenge the impugned GST action before the statutory appellate authority.
  • Such orders record no finding on the merits of the dispute and cannot be treated as authority on the substantive GST issue involved.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – provides the statutory remedy of appeal against orders passed by adjudicating authorities under the GST law, which the petitioners were granted liberty to invoke.

Decision – In Favour of

No decision on merits — the writ petition was disposed of as withdrawn, with liberty granted to the Assessee to pursue the statutory appeal remedy, without a finding for either side on the underlying dispute.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Orissa at Cuttack
  • Case No.: W.P.(C) No.33414 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Acting Chief Justice Dr. B. R. Sarangi and Justice Murahari Sri Raman
  • Decision Date: 13-11-2023
  • Disposal Nature: Withdrawn with liberty to prefer statutory appeal

Link to Download the Order

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