2018 Taxo.online 448
CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2 of 2018 IN R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 14638 of 2018 dated 02.11.2018
M/s. INDUS PROJECTS LIMITED
UNION OF INDIA
2018
GST
Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017
Akil Kureshi, Justice & Umesh Trivedi, Justice
Interim
High Court
Gujrat
Represented by: –
Petitioner: – Mr. Zubin F Bharda
Respondent: – Mr. Nirzar S Desai
Order: –
The applicant is the original petitioner. In the petition, the main prayer of the petitioner is for being granted installments for clearing the Government’s dues. The petitioner does not dispute sizeable outstanding dues to the said tax department but pleads extreme financial hardship in clearing such dues in single installment. In such petition on 20.9.2018, following order was passed :
“1. Petitioner has to pay GST dues of Rs.3.85 crores (rounded off), for which, due to its financial difficulties, the petitioner has applied to the authority for installments. Such request came to be turned down by the impugned order dated 30.08.2018 without assigning reasons. Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the departmental circular permits the authority in exercise of its discretion to grant suitable installments when financial hardship is made out.
NOTICE, returnable on 17.10.2018. On the condition that before the returnable date the petitioner deposits 20% of the outstanding amount and further continues to deposit 5% thereof 1st and 5th of every month thereafter until any other order is passed, there shall be stay against coercive recoveries of the dues. Direct service is permitted.”
The petitioner was accordingly posted for further hearing on 17.10.2018 on which date, the respondents appeared and prayed for time for filing reply. So far no reply has been filed. In the meantime, grievance of the applicant petitioner raised in the application is that the department is enforcing garnishee order contained in earlier communications issued to ONGC. In this context the applicant who appears in person drew our attention to a letter dated 30.10.2018 written by Assistant Commissioner of Central GST & Central Excise, Division-IV, Vadodara to the DGMHead Finance, Onshore Engineering Services, ONGC in which it has been stated as under:
“You are once again directed not to deviate from the instructions issued by this office vide Notice dated 07.06.2018. It is for your information that any payment made by ONGC to M/s. Indus Projects ltd. until this office withdraws its garnishee Notices will be deemed as violation of the terms and conditions of the Notice under Section 87 of Finance Act, 1994 and appropriate legal actions will be initiated for its violation as mentioned in the law.”
The applicant stated that the applicant has fulfilled all the terms of the interim order dated 20.9.2018, despite which, the respondents are enforcing coercive recoveries.
When this Court has by interim order stayed coercive recoveries of the dues of the petitioner, the respondents could not have insisted on ONGC either paying up the dues of the petitioner to the department or even prevented ONGC from releasing such payments in favour of the petitioner. This would be plainly carrying out coercive recoveries of the dues which this Court by way of interim injunction prevented the department from doing.
Notice returnable on 29.11.2018.
The communication dated 30.10.2018 is stayed. It is clarified that as long as the petitioner continues complying with the conditions of interim order dated 20.9.2018 and till such order is not recalled or modified, the respondents shall not compel ONGC or any other debtor of the petitioner to deposit any amount with the department or prevent the debtor from paying such sum to the petitioner.
