Arup Kumar Chatterjee Vs Assistant Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
The petitioner, Arup Kumar Chatterjee, filed a writ petition challenging the order dated May 11, 2023, passed by the appellate authority under Section 107 of the WBGST Act, 2017/CGST Act, 2017. The impugned order had dismissed the petitioner’s appeal against an earlier order dated November 16, 2022, issued under Section 74 of the Act, on the ground of non-compliance with the statutory pre-deposit requirement. The petitioner contended that the pre-deposit was sought to be waived because the demand was allegedly illegal, but the appellate authority dismissed the appeal without considering the waiver application.
Following the impugned order, the GST authorities recovered the entire disputed tax from the petitioner. Counsel for the petitioner argued that the statutory pre-deposit condition was thus effectively satisfied, and the petitioner should be allowed to pursue the appeal on merits. The writ petition also addressed delay in approaching the Calcutta High Court, citing financial hardship due to recovery of substantial sums over several years and waiting for the Appellate Tribunal under Section 112 of the Act to become functional. A supplementary affidavit was filed explaining the reasons for the delay.
Upon hearing the parties, the Court noted that the appellate authority under Section 107 lacks the power to waive the mandatory pre-deposit condition. Therefore, the impugned order could not be faulted on that ground. However, the Court recognized that the petitioner was unable to press the appeal before the appellate authority due to non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement and that the final fact-finding authority—the Appellate Tribunal—had not yet become functional.
