Kanagasabapathy Sundaram Pillai vs Union Govt. Of India
2017 Latest Caselaw 4297 Bom

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          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
             ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION

    PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (L) NO.65 OF 2017


Dr. Kanagasabapathy Sundaram Pillai
Founder, MY "Integrating Society
India Net" NGGO,
Shop No.1 and 2, Kantharia Mansion,
C.S.312, Dharavi Cross Road,
Dharavi, Mumbai 400017                              ......Petitioner

         Versus

Union Govt. of India,
Through,
The Chairman,
Central Board of Excise and
Customs "CBEC",
New Delhi 110001                                    .......Respondent

Petitioner present in person.

Mr. Anil C. Singh, Addl. Solicitor General with Mr. P.S.Jetly,
Mr. Sham V. Walve and Ms. Geetika Gandhi, Advocates for
Respondent.

                 CORAM : SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI, &
                         SANDEEP K. SHINDE, JJ.

RESERVED ON : June 29, 2017.

PRONOUNCED ON: July 11, 2017.

JUDGMENT [Per Shri Sandeep K. Shinde, J.] :

The decision of respondent to implement Goods

and Services Tax ('GST' for short) with effect from Shivgan

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1.7.2017 is subject matter of challenge in this petition on

the following grounds:

(i) That implementation is without

parliamentary sanction and

implementation in midst of the financial

year, is not valid;

(ii) That the preparations are not well to

adopt the new system as the rates of

CGST done recently just a week back for

which many representation from the public

are not yet replied/rectified;

(iii) That the States / UTs many are not

yet decided, not made laws and not

declared their proposed rates, not

prepared well for smooth implementations;

(iv) That the compensation for the first

quarter of the financial year not paid apart

from the arrears of many

aids/schemes/sharing and the states & UTs

will become financially critical and

unstable.

                                                                              Shivgan



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The petitioner has expressed his concerns

in the matter of implementation of acts

and extent of implementation of SGST in

its model form across the country by

States and Union Territories.

Petitioner expressed the doubt as to whether Acts

in their current form will be effective in reducing the

regulatory and administrative hurdles.

He, therefore, submitted that in the

circumstances it is advisable to make an automatic

software interfaced with the Trade Tax Automated Bank

Account (TTABA) and suggested such other measures for

effective implementation of GST.

Petitioner, thus, prayed that implementation of

GST be deferred till all legal flaws are removed, and/or till

full decision of final rates for all items including State

surcharge items preparation is done by all India states and

Union Territories.

2 The petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:

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(a) Direct the respondent to defer the implementation till

the legal sanction for implementation, the decided rates on

all varied commodities etc. is taken from the parliament in

Budget session of 2018 in February, 2018 for initiation of

the new proposal from 1st April, 2018;

(b) Direction to utilize the period for the action on anti

profiteering laws and on all shell companies, illegal

duplicate manufacturing companies, unlawful commercial

activities for tax evading/money laundering etc by the

records of existing tax system thus preventing escape of

those by the pretext in change records in new tax system;

(c) To give publicity of all procedure to make the

traders familiar and they can be given facilities of

softwares interfaced with the trade account as per the Tax

registration and the licences given for trades & awareness

education of public by our NGGO trained Senior citizen

volunteers from 2001 census family based as "GST

Personal Assistant (GSTPA)" (as in case of Direct Tax "TPA")

at the cost of traders be posted. This will create 50 crore 4-

workhours part time volunteers from 2001 census family

based under EGS to prevent financial irregularities and help

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to achieve less cash/cashless society;

(d) Directing to insist get a dedicated Trade-Bank-Account,

KYC based on valid trade licences only not by registration

certificates or individual basis for trade.

(e ) Education for awareness and informations as to be

provided by periodically in medias especially now regarding

the new tax system.

3 That to ensure implementation of 101 st

Amendment to the Constitution of India, the following 4

(Four) Acts were enacted:

(I) The Central Goods and Services Tax Act,

2017.

(ii) The Integrated Goods and Services Tax

Act, 2017.

(iii) The Goods and Services Tax

(Compensation to States) Act, 2017.

(iv) The Union Territory Goods and Services

Tax Act, 2017 and received presidential

assent on 6.4.2017.

In view of the fact aforesaid, contention of the

petitioner that decision to implement the aforesaid Acts Shivgan

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from 1.7.2017 is without authority of law lacks substance.

In fact, herein levy and collection of taxes has sanction of

law in terms of Article 265 of the Constitution of India.

4 As against this, the learned ASG appearing for

the Union of India submitted thus:

(i) Thirty State legislatures have passed the State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

(ii) Necessary rules have been framed and notified.

(iii) Over 65 lakh taxpayers have already migrated to GST network and obtained registrations.

(iv) Rates of taxes have been notified.

(v) GST Seva Kendras have been set up at every Commissionerate, Division and Range. They are answering all questions of the tax payers, and will continue to do so. A Nodal Officer has been designated at each Kendra for this purpose. States are following similar procedure.

(vi) Administrative machinery is in place. Officers of the Central Excise, Service Tax and States Value Added Tax will be implementing GST.

(vii) Everything is now put on the Public Domain.

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(viii) 60,000 officers in Central and State Governments have been trained in GST Law. The facts narrated by the learned ASG thus, indicate that respondents have taken all steps to implement New Tax System including to bring awareness amongst citizens.

5 We have perused the petition and the written

submissions submitted by the learned ASG. In our view,

petitioner cannot urge and/or seek directions to the

respondents to postpone the decision to implement GST

with effect from 1.7.2017, for simple reason that herein

levy and collection of taxes on goods and services has

sanction of law. That from written submission, it is much

evident that all such necessary steps are taken by the

respondents to ensure implementation of the GST, as it

appears (i) over 65 Lakhs tax-payers have already

migrated to GST network and obtained registrations, (ii) the

rates and taxes have been notified; (iii) rules have been

framed and notified ; (iv) wide publicity is given in public

domain; (v) entire machinery has been geared up not only

to accept new challenge but to ensure GST is implemented

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effectively.

6 In view of these facts, we are not inclined to

entertain PIL and the same is dismissed.

(SANDEEP K. SHINDE, J) (SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI, J)

Shivgan