Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Palaniswamy Rajendran, challenged an Order-in-Original dated 13.12.2022 bearing No. BLR-SOUTH/ADC/85/2022-23, passed by the Additional Commissioner of Central Tax, Bengaluru South GST Commissionerate, seeking a writ of certiorari to quash the order. The petitioner approached the Karnataka High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, contending that the controversy was directly covered by an earlier coordinate bench ruling of the same High Court dealing with identical issues arising from show cause notices and consequent Orders-in-Original passed by GST authorities.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the impugned Order-in-Original dated 13.12.2022 was liable to be quashed in light of the ratio laid down in Karnataka Chinmaya Seva Trust vs. Joint Commissioner of Central Tax.
  2. Whether the matter ought to be remitted to the stage of the show cause notice for fresh consideration by a designated officer.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The issue in controversy was directly and squarely covered by the coordinate bench decision in M/s. Karnataka Chinmaya Seva Trust vs. Joint Commissioner of Central Tax (WP No.11154/2023 and connected matters, dated 03.07.2024).
  • The Orders-in-Original passed in similar batch matters had already been set aside by the coordinate bench with directions to relegate the matters to the stage of the show cause notice, before an officer to be designated.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Learned counsel for the respondent Department urged various contentions in support of the impugned Order-in-Original but did not seriously dispute the applicability of the Chinmaya Seva Trust ruling to identical facts.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court reproduced the operative directions of Karnataka Chinmaya Seva Trust vs. Joint Commissioner of Central Tax, under which Orders-in-Original challenged in the batch were set aside and the matters relegated to the officers designated, from the stage of the show cause notice, with liberty to petitioners to file fresh pleadings and with demands pursuant to the impugned orders also being set aside.
  • Applying the same ratio, the Court quashed the impugned Order-in-Original dated 13.12.2022 and remitted the matter back to the respondent to the stage of post-show-cause-notice, to proceed further in accordance with law.
  • The petition was disposed of in these terms without further costs order recorded.

Important Clarification

  • Where a coordinate bench has already laid down a template remedy for a class of similarly-placed GST assessees (relegation to the SCN stage rather than a fresh writ-by-writ adjudication), subsequent, factually identical petitions can be disposed of by simply applying that ratio.
  • Quashing an Order-in-Original and remitting to the SCN stage preserves the petitioner's right to file fresh pleadings/replies before the designated officer, rather than leaving the demand extinguished outright.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73/74, CGST Act, 2017 — provisions under which the underlying show cause notice and Order-in-Original were originally issued.
  • Articles 226 and 227, Constitution of India — writ jurisdiction invoked to challenge the Order-in-Original.

Decision – In Favour of

Assessee. The Order-in-Original was quashed and the matter remitted to the show cause notice stage for fresh consideration.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 33916 of 2025 (T-RES)
Neutral Citation: NC: 2025:KHC:48433
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar
Date of Order: 24.11.2025

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