CM APPL. 14911/2021

CM APPL. 14898/2021

1. Issue notice.

2. Ms. Sonu Bhatnagar, who appears on behalf of the contesting respondents, accepts notice.

3. We have queried Ms. Bhatnagar as to whether the statement made on behalf of the contesting respondents on 05.04.2021, holds. Ms. Bhatnagar says that the said statement holds. She adds that the demand raised in the subject show cause notice stands dropped.

4. Mr. J.K. Mittal, who appears on behalf of the applicant/petitioner, on the other hand, says that the order of adjudication, whereby, the demand has been dropped, has been passed by an officer not competent to issue such an order.

5. Mr. Mittal states that the adjudication order has been passed by the Addl. Commissioner (Adjudication), CGST, Delhi (East). According to Mr. Mittal, the competent officer, who should have passed the order, is the Commissioner (Adjudication), CGST, Delhi (East).

6. The other grievance of Mr. Mittal is that, in the said order, i.e., order dated 05.04.2021, a typographical error has crept in inasmuch as Mr. Hriday Singh, on whose instructions, Ms. Sonu Bhatnagar and Mr. Harpreet Singh made the statement on aforesaid date, has been referred to as an officer of the Income Tax Department.

7. According to Mr. Mittal, this error appears both, in the body as also next to the cause title of the matter, where appearances are recorded.

8. To our minds, at this juncture, the grievance raised by Mr. Mittal with regard to the competency need not detain us, as, in effect, the contesting respondents have taken the position that, the demand made against the assessee, no longer subsists.

8.1 It is only when, the contesting respondents were to recall and/or review the order, this aspect may gain significance, and, at that point in time, the petitioner would be entitled to contest the matter and, perhaps, revive the writ petition. Liberty, in that behalf, is granted in the event such a situation arises.

9. Insofar as Mr. Mittal’s grievance, as regards the typographical error, is concerned, he is right. Consequently, the order dated 05.04.2021 shall stand corrected to the extent that Mr. Hriday Singh’s rank would be shown as Assistant Commissioner, CGST.

10. This correction would be carried out both in the body of the order, as well as alongside the cause title where the appearances are recorded.

11. The application is disposed of in the aforesaid terms.