CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF TIRUVALLA (TRUST) V. UNION OF INDIA

WP/15191/2021

AI Insights

The case involves the Catholic Diocese of Tiruvalla (Trust), represented by its trustee Rev. Fr. Biju Varghese, who filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner sought a directive for the respondents to complete the PAN based GST registration by correcting an error in the PAN issued to the Trust. The respondents, including the Union of India and various tax authorities, contended that any mistake in the PAN could be rectified by the petitioner through the PAN Facilitation Centre or the Income Tax Number Portal, and thus, a writ of mandamus was not the appropriate remedy.

• Counselvise Citation: [2022] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 722190 (HC-KARNATAKA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 01-07-2022
• Assessment Year: misc
• Laws Referred To: Article 226 of the Constitution of India, GST Act, 2017
• Result in Favour of: Revenue
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: SWATI PANDURANGA; E I SANMATHI; K HEMA KUMAR
• Assessee Lawyers: PRITHVI RAJ
• Keywords: Permanent Account Number; Trust; Writ of Mandamus; PAN based GST registration
• Section: 226

Judgement Text

" - 1 - IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 1ST DAY OF JULY 2022 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE M.I.ARUN WRIT PETITION No.15191 OF 2021 (T-RES) BETWEEN: CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF TIRUVALLA (TRUST) REP. BY ITS TRUSTEE REV. FR. BIJU VARGHESE FINANCE OFFICER OF THE TRUST ARCHBISHOP’S HOUSE, MARYGIRI TIRUVALLA P O., PATHANAMTHITTA KERALA - 689 101 ... PETITIONER (BY SRI.PRITHVI RAJ B. N., ADV.) AND: 1 . UNION OF INDIA REP. BY THE SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE MINISTRY OF FINANCE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA NORTH BLOCK NEW DELHI - 110 001 2 . CENTRAL BUREAU OF DIRECT TAXES REP. BY CHAIRMAN, CENTRAL SECRETARIAT NORTH BLOCK NEW DELHI - 110 001 3 . ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (EXEMPTION) AAYAKAR BHAVAN - 2 - PEROORKADA ROAD KOWDIAR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM PIN- 695 003 4 . COMMERCIAL TAX OFFICER SGSTO – 263, BELTHANGADY SURENDRA MANSION BELTHANGADY - 574 214 5 . THE SECRETARY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS FOREIGNERS DIVISION (FCRA WING) NDCC-II, BUILDING, JAI SINGH ROAD NEW DELHI - 110 001 ... RESPONDENTS (BY SMT.SWATI PANDURANGA, CGSC FOR R1 & R5; SRI. E. I. SANMATHI, ADV. FOR R2 & R3; SRI. K. HEMA KUMAR, AGA FOR R4) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO DIRECT THE RESPONDENTS TO COMPLETE THE PAN BASED GST REGISTRATION OF THE PETITIONER TRUST BY SHOWING THE CONSTITUTION OF BUSINESS AS TRUST. THIS WRIT PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN ‘B’ GROUP, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING: O R D E R The case of the petitioner is that it had obtained Permanent Account Number (hereinafter referred to as ‘PAN’ for short) and when it tried to register under the provisions of the GST Act, 2017 by linking the PAN, the - 3 - same was rejected on the ground that there is an error in the PAN issued to the petitioner. Hence, the instant writ petition is filed seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to complete the PAN based GST registration of petitioner – Trust by showing the continuation of business as Trust. 2. The learned counsel for respondent Nos.2 and 3 upon instructions submits that if there is any mistake in the PAN issued to the petitioner either due to fault of the petitioner or the respondent authority, the same can be rectified by approaching PAN Facilitation Centre or through Income Tax Number Portal and the petitioner is not entitled to the relief prayed for. 3. The contention of the learned counsel for the respondent Nos.2 and 3 is supported by other respondents. 4. Admittedly, the GST registration of the petitioner – Trust has not been successful because of the defect in the PAN Card issued to the petitioner. The method of rectifying the same is by approaching PAN Facilitation Centre or by - 4 - filing an online application in Income Tax Department Portal and a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to complete the PAN based GST registration as prayed by the petitioner cannot be considered. 5. For the aforementioned reasons, the writ petition is hereby dismissed reserving the liberty to the petitioner to seek rectification of its PAN card as aforementioned. Sd/- JUDGE MH/- "