Facts of the Case

This is a genuine GST enforcement dispute, though the Court ultimately decided nothing on its merits. The petitioner, M/s Jiva Steels Private Limited, sought to restrain parallel investigations/summons issued by the Central GST Anti-Evasion Wing (Hyderabad), the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (Bilaspur), and related authorities, concerning Input Tax Credit for the years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, alleging overlapping jurisdiction between Central and State GST authorities without resolution of which authority should proceed. An interim stay of proceedings pursuant to the original 2019 notice, granted on 15 February 2021, remained in operation through much of the case.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the initiation and continuation of separate/parallel investigations by different GST authorities over the same ITC transactions, without resolving jurisdiction, was arbitrary and violative of Article 14.

Petitioner's Arguments

The petitioner sought to restrain the respondents from proceeding further with notices and summons concerning Input Tax Credit for FY 2017-18 to 2019-20, until the State GST authorities took a final decision pursuant to an earlier intimation of tax ascertained and a GST-DRC-01 proceeding, contending that separate investigations into the same transactions without resolving jurisdiction were arbitrary and vexatious.

Respondent's Arguments

No detailed opposing arguments are recorded; the case proceeded on the parties' joint update to the Court at the final hearing regarding subsequent developments.

Court Order / Findings

  • At the final hearing, counsel informed the Court that further proceedings had since been initiated by other respondents, that the relevant documents/evidence had been transferred to the State authorities, and — critically — that the final assessment order had already been passed.
  • Finding that no further grievance survived for the petitioner to agitate, the Court dismissed the writ petition as infructuous, with no order as to costs.

Important Clarification

No ruling was made on whether the parallel investigations were proper, or on the merits of the underlying Input Tax Credit dispute. The case became moot simply because events overtook it — a final assessment order was passed while the writ was pending — and any remaining grievance about that assessment would need to be pursued through the appropriate GST appellate channel.

Sections Involved

  • Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — Input Tax Credit investigation and summons provisions

Decision – In Favour of

Dismissed as infructuous — no merits decision for either side. The dispute over parallel investigations became moot once a final assessment order was passed during the pendency of the writ petition.

Case Details

Court: High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 3541 of 2021
Coram: Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Laxmi Narayana Alishetty
Date of Order: 27 September 2023

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