Prabhu Dayal Mohanlal Pvt. Ltd Vs Chief Commissioner of CT & GST (Orissa High Court)
The petitioner challenged an order dated 3rd May 2023 passed under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017/Odisha GST Act for the period July 2017 to March 2018, which was subsequently affirmed by the Appellate Authority on 17th April 2025.
The petitioner contended that although a statutory appellate remedy was available under Section 112 of the GST Act before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), such remedy could not earlier be exercised as the Tribunal was not constituted and functional at the relevant time. The respondent accepted that the GSTAT was not functional earlier but argued that this did not absolve the petitioner from complying with the mandatory pre-deposit requirement under Section 112(8), which mandates payment of admitted dues and 10% of the disputed tax (subject to a ceiling) before filing an appeal.
The Court took note of subsequent developments, including a notification dated 17th September 2025 issued by the Department of Revenue, which provided an opportunity to file appeals before the GSTAT up to 30th June 2026 for orders communicated before 1st April 2026. For orders communicated after that date, appeals could be filed within three months.
