Once a resolution plan is approved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, claims not presented during insolvency proceedings are extinguished, prohibiting further recovery actions by revenue authorities.

ORDER :

1. In these petitions, in which petitioner is common as also, few of the respondents, the issue is common. Therefore, the two are taken up together and considered by this common order.

2. The petitioner is before this Court calling in question Sales Tax proposition notice, proposing to demand interest under the Central Sales Tax Act and confirming the said demand, pursuant to an ex-parte assessment order, again under the Central Sales Tax Act.

3. Facts, in brief, germane are as follows:-

The petitioner is a Company incorporated and registered under the Companies Act, 1956. It is engaged in the business of manufacturing consumer products such as I-Coffee, I-Pulse and I-Charge, on which Central Sales Tax and Central Excise Duty was payable and was being paid. In Writ Petition No.15951 of 2021, the petitioner effects inter-state sales under the provisions of the Central Sales Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’ for short). Likewise, the petitioner also effects export sales under the provisions of the Act which are subject to production of two different forms – C-form for the inter-state and H-form for export. During the course of assessment, the 3^rd respondent confirms a tax demand of ₹88,61,606/- being the differential tax liability on account of non-production of both forms in terms of the provisions of the Act.

4. Likewise, in Writ Petition No.15459 of 2021, the excise duty had been paid by the petitioner in terms of a notification issued under the Act. The petitioner intimated the 3^rd respondent about the classification and claimed benefit at a lower rate. Pursuant to the aforesaid act, the petitioner was subjected to assessment and audit by the Central Excise for the period between March, 2015 and July 2015 during which period, the products manufactured by the petitioner were presented and the classification of I-Coffee and I-Pulse come to be approved under the Central Excise product classification.

5. When things stood thus, owing to certain financial difficulties, the petitioner filed an application under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Code’ for short) for commencement of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (‘CIRP’). The petitioner’s application was filed before the National Company Law Tribunal. This comes to be admitted in Case No.CP(IB)No.63/BB/2017. On admission of the application of the petitioner for CIRP, the Tribunal declared a moratorium under Sections 13 and 14 of the Code from the date of admission of CIRP i.e., 22-09-2017, as obtaining under Section 14 of the Code. The averment in the petition is that moratorium prohibits institution or continuation of suits and proceedings against the petitioner, including execution of any judgment and decree of any Court of law or order of the Tribunal, Arbitration or other Authorities. It is the further averment that by virtue of moratorium declared, the Central and the State Governments were prohibited from instituting any proceedings against the petitioner.

6. The resolution professional who was appointed in CIRP makes a public announcement regarding CIRP being initiated against the petitioner and seeks claims from creditors of the petitioner as obtaining under Section 15 of the Code read with Regulation 6 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016. The resolution professional also serves a notice dated 16-02-2018 upon the revenue authorities seeking statement of their claims due from the petitioner Company for the assessment years up to the date of CIRP. It is then that the 2nd respondent in Writ Petition No. 15459 of 2021 issues a show cause notice dated 16-03-2018 proposing recovery of demand for the period from March 2014 to June 2017 to the tune of ₹11.06 crores along with penalty and interest. The Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax also submitted his claim as per the show cause notice dated 16-03-2018, to the resoluti