Delhi HC quashes Duplicate Order issued after Original Final Order, Renders it Invalid [Read Order]

In a recent judgment, the Delhi High Court quashed a tax assessment order issued by the Sales Tax Department, ruling that it was a duplicate and invalid since it pertained to the same tax period already addressed in a prior final order.

The petitioner, M/S Jain Cement Udyog, a business operated by Sanjay Jain, filed the writ petition after receiving conflicting tax orders for the assessment period from July 2018 to March 2019.

The case began when the petitioner was served a Show Cause Notice on December 30, 2020, regarding tax dues for the specified period. This notice culminated in a final assessment order on February 1, 2021. Aggrieved with the assessment, the petitioner filed a statutory appeal, which remains pending. Despite the existence of this final order and ongoing appeal, the Sales Tax Department issued a new assessment order on April 23, 2024, revisiting the same tax period and even referencing the original Show Cause Notice from 2020. This led the petitioner to seek judicial intervention, arguing that the April 2024 order was redundant and procedurally flawed.

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Represented by advocates R.P. Singh, Anant Vijay, and Yash Agarwal, the petitioner contended that a duplicate assessment order placed an unfair burden on their business by effectively reopening a matter that had already been decided and was under appeal. They argued that such duplication was unnecessary and contravened established procedural principles, creating confusion and administrative disorder.

The respondent’s counsel, Udit Malik, acknowledged the situation, noting that the April 2024 order indeed pertained to the same assessment period as the February 2021 final order.

At the hearing on October 23, 2024, the division bench, comprising Justice Yashwant Varma and Justice Ravinder Dudeja, concluded that the April 2024 order was unsustainable as it effectively duplicated the final order for the same tax period. Citing fairness and the need for administrative order, the court held that such duplicate orders could not be justified.

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Accordingly, the Delhi High Court quashed the April 2024 assessment order, ruling in favor of the petitioner on this short ground alone. However, the court clarified that this decision did not affect the petitioner’s ongoing statutory appeal against the original February 2021 order, preserving the petitioner’s rights in that matter.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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