The High Court of Kerala has issued a directive to expedite the resolution of the Kerala Goods and Services Tax (KGST) appeal and stay petition, thereby halting the enforcement of the demand notice against Mathew Scaria, the proprietor of Hotel Thushara International, Kodenchery, Kozhikode.
The petitioner, Mathew Scaria, had approached the High Court seeking relief through a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. He prayed for a series of reliefs, including the quashing of the demand notice and assessment orders.
The petitioner, represented by R. Jaikrishna, Narayani Harikrishnan, C. S. Arun Shankar and Anish P. contended that he had filed an appeal and a stay application under the KGST Act, 1963 against an assessment order but had not received a decision on the stay application. Despite the pending appeal and stay application, a demand notice had been issued.
The respondent revenue, The Deputy Commissioner of State Tax,
Joint Commissioner (Appeals) and the Deputy Commissioner (Arrear Recovery) were represented by Jasmin M. M.
The petitioner sought relief from the Kerala High Court, requesting the quashing of the demand notice, expedited consideration of his appeal and stay application and protection from coercive recovery measures by the revenue authorities on the basis of demand notice and assessment orders until adjudication of the appeal and stay petition.
The single bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh issued a ruling that the present writ petition be disposed of with a specific direction to the 2nd respondent, the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) to consider and pass orders on the stay application within one month. The court also ordered that for this one-month period, the demand notice would not be enforced.
The court’s directive has brought temporary relief to Mathew Scaria and his hotel business, as the enforcement of the demand notice has been put on hold. The ruling underscores the importance of expeditious consideration of appeals and stay applications, which is crucial in maintaining a fair and efficient tax adjudication process under the KGST system.
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