Prafulla Kumar Mohanty Vs Additional Commissioner (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court considered a writ petition filed by Prafulla Kumar Mohanty challenging the order dated 8 May 2024 passed by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Cuttack-1 for the tax periods from July 2017 to March 2018 under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The said order was subsequently affirmed by the Appellate Authority on 27 May 2025.
The petitioner contended that the appellate order suffered from serious infirmity as it had allegedly been passed without adhering to the principles of natural justice. It was also submitted that the ingredients specified in Section 74 had not been complied with, resulting in an alleged illegal exercise of power. The petitioner further referred to Instruction No. 05/2023-GST dated 13 December 2023 issued by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Direct Taxes and Customs. Although an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal was available under Section 112 of the GST Act, the petitioner had not availed that remedy on the ground that a jurisdictional issue had been raised.
On behalf of the opposite parties, the Standing Counsel submitted that the GST Appellate Tribunal was competent to adjudicate both questions of law and questions of fact and, therefore, the petitioner had a statutory remedy under Section 112 of the GST Act.
