A Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court has stayed coercive steps against petitioner as the jurisdictional powers of the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) Joint Commissioner, (Investigation) Enforcement Wing came under challenge.
The dispute centered on the authority of a specific GST official to adjudicate cases. The petitioner argued that the official lacks jurisdiction in their case due to geographical limitations outlined in relevant notifications. On the other hand, the state government maintained that broader notifications grant the official statewide authority.
The counsel representing the Goods And Service Tax Council submitted, that the notification dated 25.02.2020 confers blanket powers on the Joint Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner in the matter of exercise of powers under Section 73 of the Act of 2017 and unless otherwise directed, such power is exercisable throughout the State.
Advocate Mayank Taparia, for the petitioner argued that relevant notifications do not grant the Jaipur-based official authority over their case in Udaipur and that that the respondents did not have jurisdiction under the law to issue notice and to pass the impugned order. The state government argued that a series of notifications empower the officials to handle cases across the state.
The Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Munnuri Laxman observed that, “On prima facie considerations, we find that for the purposes of exercising powers of adjudicating authority under Section 73 of the Act of 2017, proper officer would be one who has been assigned that function as adjudicating authority. While notification dated 25.02.2020 provides that for the purposes of exercising powers under Section 73 of the Act of 2017, the officers of the rank of Joint Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner/Assistant Commissioner would be competent, the notification also clearly says that such power would be exercisable by them within their jurisdiction.”
All other notifications which have been filed by the respondents do not show that in relation to exercise of powers of adjudicating authority under Section 73 of the Act of 2017, the jurisdiction of Joint Commissioner Enforcement Wing, Rajasthan–I, Jaipur has been extended beyond his jurisdiction including Udaipur jurisdiction, the bench further noted.
The court acknowledged the need for further examination of the jurisdictional issue raised by the petitioner. The court has temporarily restrained the authorities from taking any coercive actions against the petitioner based on the disputed order.
“Learned counsel for the respective respondents are granted three weeks’ time to file their return followed by rejoinders that may be filed within a further period of two weeks”, the court added.
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