Facts of the Case

The petitioner, M/S Agarwal Steel (Proprietorship), Amethi, through its proprietor Devi Prasad Agarwal, challenged before the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, an order passed under the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, against which a statutory remedy of appeal under Section 107 of the Act was available.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the writ petition should be entertained despite the availability of a statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 of the U.P. GST Act.
  2. Whether the case fell within the recognised exception to the rule of exhaustion of alternative remedies on the ground of violation of natural justice.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The rule requiring exhaustion of alternative remedies is not absolute, and a writ petition can be entertained despite an available statutory remedy where principles of natural justice have been violated.
  • The petitioner urged that such a violation had occurred in the passing of the impugned order.

Respondent's Arguments

  • It was not a case of violation of natural justice; rather, a show cause notice had duly been issued to the petitioner, who simply failed to respond to it.
  • Since no procedural violation was involved, the petitioner ought to be relegated to the statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 of the U.P. GST Act.

Court Order/Findings

  • Without deciding whether the show cause notice was actually served or whether an opportunity of hearing was given, the Court held that this very ground could be urged before the Appellate Authority in a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the U.P. GST Act.
  • The Court declined to entertain the writ petition and disposed of it with liberty to the petitioner to file a statutory appeal, or pursue any other legal remedy available.
  • It directed that if a statutory appeal is filed, the Appellate Authority shall decide it on merits as expeditiously as possible.

Important Clarification

  • Even a claim of natural-justice violation does not automatically entitle a petitioner to bypass the statutory appellate remedy — the Court can leave that very question to be examined by the Appellate Authority itself.
  • A writ court's declining to adjudicate a natural-justice plea on merits, while granting liberty to appeal, is not a finding against the petitioner on that plea; the point remains open for consideration in appeal.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — provides the statutory remedy of appeal against orders passed under the Act.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions — neither a clean win for the Assessee nor the Department; the petitioner was left to pursue the statutory appellate remedy under Section 107, with the natural-justice plea kept open for adjudication there.

Related Case Laws

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

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench
  • Case No.: WRIT TAX No. 152 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available on record (Neutral Citation No. 2023:AHC-LKO:70894-DB)
  • Coram: Hon'ble Vivek Chaudhary, J. and Hon'ble Manish Kumar, J.
  • Decision Date: 30.10.2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of – dismissed with liberty to file statutory appeal under Section 107 UPGST Act

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