Facts of the Case

The petitioner, a Class-I contractor, had executed road works for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) under two work orders dated 13.07.2020. He filed a writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution seeking a mandamus directing the BBMP and State authorities to pay GST in addition to the value of the work entrusted to him under those work orders, relying on a State Government direction dated 11.10.2018.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner was entitled to payment of GST over and above the contract value of the work executed for BBMP.
  2. Whether this contractual/payment dispute was appropriately resolved through writ jurisdiction or through arbitration.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The State's own direction dated 11.10.2018 required GST to be paid in addition to the value of work entrusted under the relevant work orders, and the BBMP had failed to make this additional payment.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No substantive counter-arguments on the GST payment question are recorded, since the matter was disposed of on withdrawal before arguments on merits were concluded.

Court Order / Findings

  • After arguing for some time, learned counsel for the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the writ petition, with liberty to initiate arbitral proceedings against the respondents instead.
  • The Court granted this liberty and disposed of the writ petition as withdrawn, without expressing any view on whether GST was in fact payable in addition to the contract value.

Important Clarification

This order does not decide whether GST is payable over and above a works-contract value agreed with a government body — a question that regularly arises for contractors executing public works. The petitioner's claim remains open to be agitated in arbitration, and the outcome of that arbitration (not this order) would settle the actual entitlement.

Sections Involved

  • Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, 1950
  • Government of Karnataka direction dated 11.10.2018 (PWD 65 RDF 2017) regarding payment of GST on works-contract value

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of without a decision on merits — the writ petition was withdrawn by the petitioner himself, with liberty granted to pursue arbitration on the GST payment claim.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 16604 of 2023 (LB-BMP)
Neutral Citation: NC: 2023:KHC:30447
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Suraj Govindaraj
Date of Order: 24.08.2023

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