C/SCA/7366/2020 ORDER IN HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 7366 of 2020 ASSOCIATED ROAD CARRIERS LTD. THROUGH ITS AUTHORISED PERSON PRAKASH DHANIRAM ARYA Versus STATE OF GUJARAT Appearance: MR AADITYA D BHATT(8580) for Petitioner(s) No. 1 for Respondent(s) No. 2 MS MANISHA LAVKUMAR SHAH, GOVERNMENT PLEADER/PP(99) for Respondent(s) No. 1 CORAM: HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. VIKRAM NATH and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA Date : 15/06/2020 ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA) 1. By this writ application under Article 226 of Constitution of India, writ applicant engaged in business of transport has prayed for following reliefs : (A) that your lordships be pleased to quash and set aside order dated 07.06.2020, under provisions of Section 129 of CGST Act, specifying tax and penalty of Rs.2,02,974/- payable, along with related provisions of State GST and/or integrated GST Act, in interest of justice; (B) Pending admission hearing and final disposal of present petition, your lordships may be pleased to direct to release Vehicle bearing Registration Page 1 of 3 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 30 10:37:05 IST 2021 C/SCA/7366/2020 ORDER No.RJ27GC2872, as well as consignments under purported exercise of powers under Section 129 of GST Act. (C) Be pleased to award cost of petition to present petitioner. (D) Grant such other and further relief as nature of case may require in interest of justice. 2. It appears from materials on record that while goods were in transit, vehicle/conveyance bearing Registration No.RJ-27-GC-2872 came to be seized on ground that driver of conveyance was not able to produce valid E-way bill. Ultimately, show cause notice was issued by authority concerned and order has been passed in MOV.09 dated 07.06.2020 calling upon writ applicant to pay particular amount of tax and penalty. writ applicant being dissatisfied with impugned order passed by authority concerned is here before us with present writ application. 3. We have heard Mr.Aaditya Bhatt, learned counsel appearing for writ applicant and Ms.Manisha Lavkumar Shah, learned Government Pleader for respondent State. 4. We invited attention of learned counsel for writ applicant to fact that his client has remedy of preferring statutory appeal under Section 107 of Gujarat State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Page 2 of 3 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 30 10:37:05 IST 2021 C/SCA/7366/2020 ORDER 5. In view of fact that there is statutory appeal provided against impugned order, we are of opinion that writ applicant should avail alternative remedy and prefer appropriate appeal if he deems fit. At this stage, we may clarify that if statutory appeal under Section 107 is preferred by writ applicant and if appeal is not disposed of at earliest or in near future, it is always open for writ applicant to prefer application under Section 67(6) of Act for interim release of conveyance pending final adjudication of statutory appeal. 6. We dispose of this writ application in aforesaid terms with clarification that if any such application is preferred under Section 67(6) of Act, same shall be decided in accordance with law at earliest. 7. With above, this writ application stands disposed of. (VIKRAM NATH, CJ) (J. B. PARDIWALA, J) A. B. VAGHELA Page 3 of 3 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 30 10:37:05 IST 2021 Associated Road Carriers Ltd. v. State of Gujarat