Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Vadakkedath Sanilan, proprietor of S.B. Medicals, Nileswaram, Kasaragod District, challenged a show cause notice dated 05.07.2021, the consequential order along with a demand in Form GST DRC-07 dated 10.02.2022 issued by the first respondent (State Tax Officer), and a recovery notice dated 01.07.2023 issued by the second respondent (Assistant Commissioner, Arrear Recovery). The matter came up before the Kerala High Court for admission on 18.10.2023.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the impugned show cause notice, order-cum-DRC-07 demand, and recovery notice were liable to be set aside.
  2. Whether the petitioner should instead be permitted to pursue relief under a proposed GST Amnesty Scheme.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • After some arguments, the petitioner's counsel submitted that the petitioner would prefer to withdraw the writ petition and instead approach the concerned authority under a proposed Amnesty Scheme, for which a notification was expected to be issued.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No independent submissions from the respondents on the substantive challenge are recorded, as the matter was disposed of on the petitioner's own request for withdrawal.

Court Order/Findings

  • Considering the submission of the petitioner's counsel, the Court permitted withdrawal of the writ petition.
  • The writ petition was dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty to the petitioner to approach the authority concerned under the proposed GST Amnesty Scheme.

Important Clarification

  • Taxpayers with pending challenges to GST demand/recovery notices may find it more efficient to withdraw the litigation and avail a subsequently announced Amnesty Scheme, rather than continue contesting the demand on merits.
  • Courts routinely grant liberty to withdraw with permission to pursue such schemes once notified, preserving the taxpayer's option without expressing any view on the merits of the underlying demand.

Sections Involved

  • Form GST DRC-07 — the prescribed summary of the order for creating a demand, issued under the CGST/SGST Rules, 2017.
  • GST Amnesty Scheme (proposed notification) — a relief mechanism periodically notified by the Government to enable settlement of pending GST demands on concessional terms.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions at the petitioner's own instance — the writ petition was dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty granted to the petitioner to pursue relief under the proposed Amnesty Scheme; this is a procedural disposal rather than a decision on merits for either side.

Related Case Laws

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

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam
  • Case No.: WP(C) No. 33287 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available on record
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh
  • Decision Date: 18 October 2023
  • Disposal Nature: Dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to approach under Amnesty Scheme

Link to Download the Order

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