Facts of the Case

The petitioners, Swapan Kumar Biswas and another, filed a writ petition before the Calcutta High Court against the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax (GST), Bureau of Investigation (South Bengal), Durgapur Zone, and others. The record shows that the petitioners had submitted a representation dated 3 October 2023 to the respondent authorities seeking redressal of a grievance, the details of which are referenced in the representation itself but not elaborated in the order. At the time the writ petition came up for hearing on 20.11.2023, that representation remained pending and undecided by the GST Bureau of Investigation.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the GST Bureau of Investigation authorities could be directed by the Court to decide the petitioners' pending representation within a fixed timeframe, without the Court itself examining the underlying grievance.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioners had submitted a representation on 3 October 2023 before the respondent GST Bureau of Investigation authorities seeking redressal of their grievance.
  • Despite the passage of time, the representation remained pending, and the petitioners sought a direction from the Court for its expeditious disposal.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No specific contest to the maintainability of the representation or opposition to a time-bound direction is recorded; the State's counsel is noted as appearing, but no substantive defence is captured in the brief order.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court considered the facts and submissions of the parties and disposed of the writ petition by directing the respondent GST Bureau of Investigation authorities to consider and dispose of the petitioners' representation dated 3 October 2023, in accordance with law, by passing a reasoned and speaking order.
  • The authorities were directed to grant an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners or their authorised representatives, and to complete the exercise within four weeks from communication of the order.
  • The Court expressly clarified that it had not examined the merits of the representation, and directed that the respondent authorities, while considering it, shall act strictly in accordance with law.

Important Clarification

  • Where a taxpayer's representation to GST investigating authorities remains undecided for an extended period, the High Court may issue a time-bound direction for its disposal by a reasoned, speaking order after hearing the taxpayer, without itself adjudicating the underlying grievance.
  • Such disposal orders are procedural in nature and leave all substantive contentions regarding the GST investigation open for determination by the authority in the first instance.

Sections Involved

  • Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — the general statutory framework under which the Bureau of Investigation (South Bengal) exercises its powers; specific provisions invoked in the underlying representation are not detailed in the order.

Decision – In Favour of

This is a disposal with directions and no finding on merits, and should not be read as a win for either side. The Court directed timely, reasoned disposal of the petitioners' pending representation by the GST Bureau of Investigation, expressly leaving the substance of the grievance to be decided by the authority itself.

Related Case Laws

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

Case Details

  • Court: High Court at Calcutta
  • Case No.: WPA 24477 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Md. Nizamuddin
  • Decision Date: 20 November 2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of with direction to decide petitioner's representation within four weeks

Link to Download the Order

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