Amit Kumar Das Vs Joint Commissioner of State Tax (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court considered a writ petition challenging an order dated 12 June 2024 passed by the Joint Commissioner of State Tax under Section 73 of the CGST and OGST Acts for the tax period April 2020 to March 2021, which had been affirmed by the Appellate Authority on 29 May 2025. The petitioner argued that although a further statutory remedy of appeal exists under Section 112 of the GST Act before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), such remedy was ineffective because the GSTAT had not been constituted or made functional at the relevant time, leaving the petitioner without an effective appellate forum.
The State acknowledged that the GSTAT had not been functional but contended that this did not exempt the petitioner from complying with the statutory pre-deposit requirements under Section 112(8) of the GST Act. This provision mandates that an appellant must pay the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty in full, along with 10% of the remaining disputed tax amount (subject to a cap of ₹20 crore), as a condition precedent to filing an appeal.
The Court noted that the Department of Revenue had subsequently issued a notification dated 17 September 2025 extending and prescribing timelines for filing appeals before the GSTAT, including staggered filing windows up to 30 June 2026. Detailed procedural guidance was also issued through a “User Advisory for the GSTAT e-Filing Portal,” specifying phased timelines based on the date of filing of first appeals or revision notices and clarifying that appeals could still be filed up to 30 June 2026 even if the staggered window was missed.
