Facts of the Case

This is a batch of writ petitions before the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur, filed by liquor trade entities — Bhatia Wine Merchants Pvt. Ltd., M/s Chhattisgarh Distilleries Ltd., and Welcome Distilleries Pvt. Ltd. — against the State of Chhattisgarh, acting through its Excise Department and Excise Commissioner. This is a State Excise licensing matter concerning liquor, a category of goods that remains outside the scope of GST; the respondent department's address happens to be styled the "Commercial Tax and GST Bhawan," but no GST issue was raised or decided in the case. The petitioners had challenged certain notices issued by the Excise Department dated 06.07.2023, 10.07.2023 and 14.07.2023.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the impugned excise notices issued to the petitioner liquor companies/distilleries were liable to be quashed.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The specific grounds of challenge to the impugned notices are not recorded in this short order, beyond the fact that the petitioners contested the notices dated 06.07.2023, 10.07.2023 and 14.07.2023 issued by the State Excise Department.

Respondent's Arguments

  • During the course of arguments, the learned Senior Advocate for the State, on instructions, submitted that the State was withdrawing the impugned notices dated 06.07.2023, 10.07.2023 and 14.07.2023.

Court Order / Findings

  • In view of the State's submission withdrawing the impugned notices, the Court held that nothing remained for adjudication in the petitions.
  • The petitions were accordingly disposed of on this basis, without the Court recording any independent reasoning or findings on the merits of the underlying dispute.

Important Clarification

This is a threshold disposal: the writ petitions became infructuous once the State withdrew the notices under challenge, and the Court did not examine or decide the merits of the excise dispute. It has no bearing on GST law, since liquor for human consumption remains outside the GST regime and the dispute was purely one of State Excise licensing.

Sections Involved

  • Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915
  • Article 226, Constitution of India — Writ jurisdiction

Decision – In Favour of

The writ petitions were disposed of without a decision on merits, following the State's own withdrawal of the impugned notices; neither side obtained a substantive ruling on the underlying excise dispute.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur
  • Case No.: WPC No. 3226 of 2023, with connected WPC Nos. 3227 and 3228 of 2023
  • Coram: Hon'ble Shri Justice Parth Prateem Sahu
  • Date of Order: 18 July 2023

Link to Download the Order

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