The Bombay High Court at Goa has quashed a CGST demand order against a video gaming and bowling services provider, ruling that parallel proceedings on the same issue and for the same period by multiple tax authorities are legally impermissible.
The bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Nivedita P. Mehta passed the order calling out the duplicative action by different CGST divisions in Goa as violative of natural justice and sound administrative practice.
The petitioner, a provider of leisure services including video gaming and bowling, had already been subjected to adjudication proceedings by one CGST division. Despite this, a separate demand was later initiated by another division for the same tax period and on nearly identical grounds.
The business challenged the second proceeding, arguing that it constituted harassment and went against the settled principle that no person should be subjected to multiple proceedings on the same cause.
The High Court agreed with the petitioner, stating “Once jurisdiction has been assumed and proceedings are underway by a competent authority, initiating another proceeding on the same subject by a different authority is untenable and must be struck down.”
The bench emphasized that parallel proceedings create unnecessary hardship for taxpayers, encourage administrative overlap, and result in an inefficient use of judicial and departmental resources.
The impugned demand order was set aside, with the Court cautioning the CGST authorities against such duplicative practices. It directed that no further action on the same subject matter be taken unless due closure is recorded in the earlier proceeding.
Case Details
Case Title: M/s. HM Leisure Versus Assistant Commissioner of CGST
Case No.: Writ Petition No.236 Of 2025
Date: 28th JULY 2025
Counsel For Petitioner: V. Raghuraman, Senior Advocate
Counsel For Respondent: Asha Desai, Senior Standing Counsel
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