In Writ Tax No. 945 of 2023 -ALL HC- Allahabad High Court seeks explanation from State on deeming service under GST
Justice Piyush Agrawal [09-08-2023]

Read Order: M/s. Virender Kumar Projects Pvt Ltd v. State of U.P. and 2 Others

Chahat Varma

New Delhi, August 18, 2023: In a recent case where the dismissal of an appeal on grounds of limitation was challenged by M/s Virender Kumar Projects Pvt. Ltd. (petitioner), the Allahabad High Court has directed the State, calling for a counter affidavit to be filed. The Court instructed that the counter affidavit must include a clear explanation of how and in what manner the deeming service, as outlined in clauses (c) & (d) of sub-section (1) of Section 169 of the Goods and Services Tax Act (GST Act), can be said to be deemed service according to sub-section (2) of Section 169.

The instant writ was filed by the petitioner, contesting the dismissal of their appeal on grounds of limitation. The petitioner asserted that their appeal was wrongly rejected by treating the date of the order under challenge as the date of communication. According to the petitioner, their appeal was filed well within the stipulated limitation period.

The single-judge bench of Justice Piyush Agrawal acknowledged that the matter required further consideration. The bench instructed the State to provide details in the counter affidavit regarding the interpretation of how the deeming service functions between the relevant sections of the GST Act.

The case has been scheduled for further hearing on 11.09.2023.

In the interim, the Court ruled that no coercive actions should be taken against the petitioner in relation to the disputed order. However, the petitioner must deposit 50% of the disputed tax amount in accordance with the law.