Court directs respondent to consider petitioner's responses and pass final orders within eight weeks

The court found the challenge to the show cause notices premature as no final orders had been issued. The respondent was directed to consider the petitioner's responses and pass final orders within eight weeks, taking into account the Seller's acknowledgment of tax liability. The writ petitions were disposed of with these directions, and no costs were imposed.

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Issues:
Challenge to show cause notices issued for three assessment years - 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged the show cause notices issued by the respondent, alleging that the notices were issued incorrectly as the Seller had admitted liability for the tax. The petitioner argued that instead of taking action against the Seller, the respondent wrongly issued the notices to the petitioner, the purchaser. The respondent had issued notices under Section 74(5) of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, calling upon the petitioner to pay the determined tax or respond as per Part-B of the notices. The petitioner replied to the notices on two occasions, providing detailed responses and supporting documents. Despite this, the respondent issued impugned show cause notices dated 21.09.2020 without considering the petitioner's responses adequately.

It is established that a show cause notice can be challenged through a writ petition if issued without proper authority under the law. In this case, the petitioner challenged the show cause notices before any final orders were passed by the respondent. The petitioner's concern was that the respondent did not consider the replies dated 05.06.2020 & 09.09.2020 provided by the petitioner and issued the impugned notices arbitrarily. The court noted that before passing final orders based on the show cause notices, the respondent must consider all objections raised by the petitioner in the replies and the supporting documents submitted.

The court found that the challenge to the show cause notices by the petitioner was premature since no final orders had been issued by the respondent. Consequently, the court directed the respondent to consider the petitioner's replies dated 05.06.2020 & 09.09.2020, along with the supporting documents and the statement of the Seller acknowledging tax liability. The respondent was instructed to pass final orders on the show cause notices within eight weeks from the date of receipt of the court's order. The writ petitions were disposed of with these directions, and no costs were imposed. The connected miscellaneous petitions were closed accordingly.

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