Facts of the Case

Prodyut Kumar Roy filed a writ petition against the State of West Bengal and Raiganj Municipality, seeking a direction to the authorities to bear the additional tax liability for execution of a subsisting government/municipal contract awarded either in the pre-GST regime or the post-GST regime, on the ground that the Schedule of Rates (SOR) used to prepare the Bill of Quantities for the tender had not been updated to incorporate applicable GST. The petitioner also sought neutralisation of the unforeseen additional tax burden for contracts awarded before the GST rollout on 1st July 2017, and an update to the State SOR to substitute GST for the now-inapplicable West Bengal VAT.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a contractor executing a municipal works contract priced under a pre-GST Schedule of Rates is entitled to relief for the additional GST burden.
  2. Whether the authorities were obliged to update the SOR to reflect the GST regime.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The Schedule of Rates used for the tender had not been updated to incorporate GST, leaving the contractor to bear an unforeseen additional tax burden.
  • The State/Municipality should neutralise this burden and update the SOR to reflect GST in place of the erstwhile West Bengal VAT.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Counsel for Raiganj Municipality and the State appeared but the order does not record specific grounds of opposition; the matter proceeded to a consent-style disposal.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court disposed of the writ petition, granting the petitioner liberty to file an appropriate representation before the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Government of West Bengal, within four weeks.
  • The Additional Chief Secretary was directed to decide the representation within four months, after consulting other relevant departments and after affording the petitioner a hearing.
  • No coercive action was to be taken against the petitioner until the final decision, and the order would lapse if the representation was not filed within the stipulated time; the decision was directed to be a reasoned, speaking order considering the judgments relied upon by the petitioner.

Important Clarification

As with similar orders passed by the same Bench around this date, this disposal does not itself grant the GST relief sought — it only secures a time-bound, reasoned consideration of the representation by the State Finance Department. Contractors relying on this order should pursue the representation route rather than treat the writ petition itself as having decided their entitlement.

Sections Involved

  • Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — governing the GST regime effective 1st July 2017.
  • The erstwhile West Bengal Value Added Tax Act — referenced as the pre-GST regime under which the original Schedule of Rates was framed.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of without a decision on merits; the petitioner secured only a time-bound, reasoned consideration of its representation by the Finance Department.

Case Details

Court: High Court at Calcutta
Case No.: WPA 22014 of 2023
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Md. Nizamuddin
Date of Order: 20.09.2023

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