Abhinandan Sahoo Vs Chief Commissioner of CT & GST And Others (Orissa High Court)
Conclusion: Notifications under Section 168A need not be adjudicated in writ jurisdiction since matter could be taken before appellate forum. It may appropriately be pursued before the competent statutory authority empowered to adjudicate factual disputes under the GST Act and the Rules framed thereunder.
Held: Assessee had challenged an order passed under Section 73 of the GST Act, raising a plea that the adjudication was barred by limitation despite extension notifications issued under Section 168A. However, the Court noted that writ petition was filed only on 8 July 2025, nearly a year later, without disclosing any reasons for the delay. Referring to assessee’s own admission in the writ petition regarding clerical mistakes in reporting exempt supplies as taxable supplies in GSTR-1, the Court held that such factual controversies required adjudication before the statutory appellate forum, and not under writ jurisdiction. The Bench followed its own precedents including State of Madhya Pradesh v. Nandlal Jaiswal, where the Supreme Court held that “the High Court in the exercise of writ jurisdiction does not ordinarily assist the tardy and indolent or the acquiescent and lethargic,” and on Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply v. T.T. Murali Babu, 2014,, which cautioned that delay reflects “inaction and procrastination- the greatest thief of time.” Further, the Court stated the settled principle in CIT v. Chhabil Dass Agarwal, 2014 that when a statutory remedy exists, writ jurisdiction should not ordinarily be invoked unless there is a breach of natural justice or total lack of jurisdiction. Assessee’s case was barred by the principles of delay and laches. According to the Supreme Court in Godrej Sara Lee Ltd. v. Excise and Taxation Officer-cum-Assessing Authority, 2023, the Bench observed that the issues raised in the writ petition, if so advised, may appropriately be pursued before the competent statutory authority empowered to adjudicate factual disputes under the GST Act and the Rules framed thereunder. Notifications under Section 168A need not be adjudicated in writ jurisdiction since matter could be taken before appellate forum.
