State Can’t Refuse to Incorporate Enhanced GST Rates in Quoted Amount of Successful Bidder Before Hike | HC
- Blog|
- 2 Min Read
- By Taxmann
- |
- Last Updated on 23 January, 2024
Latest from Taxmann
Case Details: Asha Construction v. State of West Bengal - [2024] 158 taxmann.com 463 (Calcutta)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
-
- Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.
- Soumya Majumder, Subhabrata Das, Amartya pal & Kartick Kumar Goyal for the Petitioner.
- Amal Kumar Sen & Ms Ashima Das (Sil) for the Respondent.
Facts of the Case
The petitioner participated in a tender and was declared successful bidder. The acceptance order was issued to it indicating GST payable at 12%. Subsequently, the GST rate was enhanced from 12% to 18% by a notification. The petitioner sought to incorporate enhanced 6% in rates quoted by it but the department refused to grant work order and also forfeited Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) made by the petitioner.
It filed writ petition against the refusal of department to grant work order and forfeiture of EMD and contended that as per a Memorandum issued by the Finance Department, Government of West Bengal, the petitioner should be allowed to enhance 6% GST in rates quoted.
High Court Held
The Honorable High Court noted that as per tender document, the contractor whose tender shall be accepted shall make formal agreement within seven days and if he fails to do so, tender would be liable to be cancelled and earnest money forfeited. However, in the present case, there were subsequent correspondences between the petitioner and department even after expiry of seven days, amounting to acknowledgement and by such conduct, the department waived its rights of cancellation under clause 19 of tender document.
Therefore, the department was duty bound to permit petitioner to enhance GST rates by 6% in terms of their own Memorandum. The Court also noted that the State actions have to be scrutinized on a higher standard of fairness than the action of private employers. Therefore, the Court held that the refusal by department to give work order to petitioner was to be set aside.
Disclaimer: The content/information published on the website is only for general information of the user and shall not be construed as legal advice. While the Taxmann has exercised reasonable efforts to ensure the veracity of information/content published, Taxmann shall be under no liability in any manner whatsoever for incorrect information, if any.
Taxmann Publications has a dedicated in-house Research & Editorial Team. This team consists of a team of Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, and Lawyers. This team works under the guidance and supervision of editor-in-chief Mr Rakesh Bhargava.
The Research and Editorial Team is responsible for developing reliable and accurate content for the readers. The team follows the six-sigma approach to achieve the benchmark of zero error in its publications and research platforms. The team ensures that the following publication guidelines are thoroughly followed while developing the content:
- The statutory material is obtained only from the authorized and reliable sources
- All the latest developments in the judicial and legislative fields are covered
- Prepare the analytical write-ups on current, controversial, and important issues to help the readers to understand the concept and its implications
- Every content published by Taxmann is complete, accurate and lucid
- All evidence-based statements are supported with proper reference to Section, Circular No., Notification No. or citations
- The golden rules of grammar, style and consistency are thoroughly followed
- Font and size that’s easy to read and remain consistent across all imprint and digital publications are applied
Sign Up
To subscribe to our weekly newsletter please log in/register on Taxmann.com
Latest Books
Everything on Tax and Corporate Laws of India
To subscribe to our weekly newsletter please log in/register on Taxmann.com
