GST Appellate Authority Cannot Claim “Functus Officio” If Appeal Dismissed for Pre-Deposit, Not Merits: Jharkhand HC

Maa Kalyani Electrical Vs Union of India (Jharkhand High Court) The writ petition, Maa Kalyani Electrical Vs Union of India, before the Jharkhand High Court addressed the issue of whether an appellate authority becomes “functus officio”—a term meaning “having discharged one’s duty”—when it dismisses an appeal not on its merits, but solely on the procedural ground of failure to make a mandatory pre-deposit. The court ultimately ruled that the doctrine of functus officio was inapplicable in the specific facts of the case, setting aside the second rejection and ...