Kalandi Sahoo Vs Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and Goods and Services Tax (Orissa High Court)
Writ Petition Not Maintainable After GSTAT Becomes Functional – Person cannot “steal a march” by Writ petition to avoid complying with Mandate of S. 112(8) of GST Act: Orissa HC Reiterates Mandatory Pre-Deposit for GST Appeals
The petitioner challenged the order dated 16th December 2023 issued by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Cuttack-I East Circle, covering the tax periods from April 2020 to November 2020 under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) and the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (OGST Act). The order had been affirmed by the Appellate Authority on 31st July 2025. The petitioner contended that although an appeal under Section 112 of the GST Act is available before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), this remedy was inaccessible since the GSTAT had not been constituted or made functional, thereby leaving the petitioner without a remedy.
The learned Standing Counsel for the CT & GST Department acknowledged that GSTAT had not been functional earlier but emphasized that the statutory conditions under sub-section (8) of Section 112 must still be complied with. Specifically, the provision mandates that no appeal can be filed unless the appellant deposits in full the amount of tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty admitted, along with ten percent of the remaining disputed tax, subject to a maximum of twenty crore rupees.
