Abhijit Nayak Vs Commissioner of (CT & GST) (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court considered a writ petition filed by Abhijit Nayak challenging an order dated 8th February, 2022, issued by the CT & GST Officer, Puri Circle, for tax periods from July 2017 to March 2018 under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and Odisha GST Act, 2017. The petitioner’s appeal against this order had been affirmed by the Appellate Authority on 25th September, 2025. The petitioner contended that under Section 112 of the GST Act, an appeal lies to the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT); however, as GSTAT had not been constituted or made functional at the time, he argued that he was rendered without a remedy. The Department acknowledged GSTAT’s non-functionality but emphasized that compliance with Section 112(8) — requiring payment of ad-mitted tax and 10% of the disputed tax (capped at ₹20 crore) — is mandatory before filing an appeal.
The Court noted that Section 112(8) explicitly conditions the filing of an appeal on pre-deposit of tax and related amounts. It observed that the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, issued Notifica-tion S.O. No.4220(E) dated 17th September, 2025, providing a timeline for filing appeals before the GSTAT. The notification set staggered filing windows from September 2025 to June 2026 based on the date of first appeal filing or notice issuance, with provisions allowing filing after the scheduled window but before 30th June, 2026. The authorities also issued a “User Advisory for the GSTAT e-Filing Portal” outlining detailed timelines and guidance for filing appeals, including cases where ARN/CRN is unavaila-ble in the GSTN system.
