TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (8) TMI 227
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....g the case for adjudication under Section 74 of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017. On the basis of the recommendation of the enforcement officer, an adjudication proceeding under Section 74(5) of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017 was initiated against the petitioner on 2nd March, 2023. Intimation in GST/DRC-01A was issued directing the petitioner to produce the documentary evidences to prove the eligibility of ITC involved before the said authority or to pay the amount of tax as ascertained along with interest and penalty. Thereafter a show cause notice in GST/01 was issued to the petitioner on 15th March, 2023. Alleging that the petitioner failed to reply to the show cause notice, two reminder notices were issued to the petitioner on 24th April, 2023 and 21st December, 2023. Petitioner replied to the second reminder notice by a reply on 28th December, 2023. The Deputy Commissioner, State GST, Bureau of Investigation, North Bengal, HQ, as an adjudication authority, passed an order dated 13th March, 2024. It was observed in the said order that the Input Tax Credit (ITC) claimed on inward supplies from five suppliers were found to be ineligible and the petitioner was liable to reverse the ineligible I....
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....sdiction, she placed reliance upon an order dated 8th July, 2026 passed by a co-ordinate bench in WPA 14040 of 2026 in the case of Hahnemann's Jac Olivol Group of Products Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. Vs. The Joint Commissioner of State Tax Bureau of Investigation (South Bengal) & Ors.. She thus submitted that since the authorities lacked jurisdiction to issue the show cause notice and pass the order of adjudication, she has approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. 6. Per contra, Mr. Mishra, Learned Assistant Additional Advocate General contended that an appeal lies before the GST Appellate Tribunal under Section 112 of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017 against an order passed by the appellate authority under Section 107 of the said Act. He submitted that the GST Appellate Tribunal has already become functional. He submitted that since an alternative and efficacious appellate remedy under Section 112 is available, this Court should not entertain the instant writ petition. In support of such contention Mr. Mishra placed reliance upon a Judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Commissioner of Income Tax & Ors. vs. Chhabil Dass Agarwal reported at (2014) 1 SCC 6....
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....ced reliance upon the decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of Calcutta Discount Company Ltd. vs. Income Tax Officer, Companies District I Calcutta & Anr. reported at 1960 SCC OnLine SC 10; Whirlpool Corporation vs. Registered of Trade Marks Mumbai & Ors. reported at (1998) 8 SCC 1 and State of HP & Ors. vs. Gujarat Ambuja Ltd. & Anr. reported at (2005) 6 SCC 499. She thus contended that the proceedings initiated by the respondents are an abuse of the process of law and, therefore, the High Court should entertain this writ petition. 8. Heard the Ld. Advocates for the parties and perused the materials placed. 9. There is no quarrel to the proposition of law laid down in Chhabil Das Agarwal (supra) that the High Court does not act as a court of appeal against the decision of a court of tribunal to correct errors of fact and does not by assuming jurisdiction under Article 226 trench upon an alternative remedy provided by statute for obtaining relief. 10. There is also no quarrel to the proposition of law laid down in Shiva Prasad Pattnaik (supra) and M/s. Seashell (supra) that writ court can be approached assailing an order for which the forum of appeal is provided a....
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....isdictional issue is a pure question of law, such a writ petition ought not to have been thrown out at the threshold. 17. What follows from the aforesaid discussion is that if a jurisdictional issue questioning the competence of an authority to exercise a power is raised in a writ petition and such issue is a pure questions of law and does not involve adjudication of disputed question of facts, a writ petition may be entertained instead of dismissing the same merely on the ground of availability of alternative remedy. 18. In the case on hand, the order of adjudication has been passed by an authority posted at Bureau of Investigation. The order dated 20th November, 2019 issued by the Commissioner, State Tax West Bengal states that the officer posted in Head Quarters or Zonal Offices of an Unit of Bureau of Investigation shall exercise jurisdiction over any person including a tax payer, transporter or person in charge of a vehicle, irrespective of the specific location of the place of business of such transporter or person for carrying out enforcement activity in respect of storage of goods or transportation or movement of goods into, within, out of or through the State of West....
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....ication arises only if the Government seeks to impose conditions on such empowerment and in the absence of a notification, officers appointed under the State GST Legislature automatically act as proper officer for the purposes of CGST Act. 23. After going though the writ petition, this Court finds that the petitioner has raised jurisdictional issues and has also questioned the competence of the respondent no. 1 to issue the show cause notice and pass the order of adjudication. 24. It does not appear from the adjudication order that the aforesaid jurisdictional issues have been raised by the petitioner before such authority. 25. Since various jurisdictional issues are involved in this matter, this Court has exercised its discretion and entertained this writ petition. This Court, however, feels that the matter should be remanded to the adjudicating authority to decide the jurisdictional issue(s) raised by the petitioner. 26. It is well settled that an adjudicating authority is also vested with the power to rule on its jurisdiction. 27. For such reason, this court is inclined to interfere with the order of adjudication and the appellate order as well as all consequentia....