The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the orders of two High Courts passed on Thursday following the central government’s plea that
Kerala and Allahabad High Court orders would destabilise the Indian economy and have far reaching consequences.
The Kerala High Court had ordered that in view of the present Emergency, recovery, penalty etc. on GST be deferred for two weeks till April 6, during which no coercive measures be taken.
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In a similar order the Allahabad High Court ordered that “ Auction, Recovery, Eviction and Demolition” by the state be suspended for two weeks.
A Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Aniruddh Bose took note of the central government’s plea and stayed the orders. The stay order followed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s plea that GST collections were used by the Government to pay salary to employees and non-recovery of GST would have serious and far-reaching consequences.
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The Solicitor General also argued that since GST and other taxes are paid online, there is no justification for suspending tax collection.
The Government, he told the court, was conscious the situation following outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and that it would take adequate steps to deal with the situation.
The plea and the Supreme Court’s decision evoked caustic comments with people pointing out that far more liberal relaxations were being announced by way of relief by various countries affected by the pandemic. They wondered how a two-week window allowed by way of relief by the two High Courts would endanger the country’s economy.
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Even lawyers in the national capital were surprised and some of their reactions were as follows:
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In sharp contrast to the attitude of the Government of India and the Supreme Court, the government of Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala announced a slew of relief measures and a financial package worth₹20,000 Crore. Some of the reliefs announced by Kerala are as follows:
The question being asked is that if Kerala can afford to reach out to the people and businesses in need, why can’t the central government defer tax collections for two weeks ?
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