Reddy Veeranna Constructions Pvt. Ltd. Vs Appeal-I Commissioner, Appeal-I Commissioner, Appeal-I Commissioner & Ors. (GSTAT)
The appeal came before the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) at the stage of admission. The Registry had issued a defect memo pointing out certain defects in the appeal, including the alleged non-payment of the statutory pre-deposit.
The Appellant submitted that the procedural defects identified by the Registry had been rectified by providing satisfactory replies regarding bookmarking, indexing, uploading of the show cause notice, statements, certifications, copies of the appeal, and other relevant documents.
The dispute arose from a Show Cause Notice issued to the Appellant proposing penalties under Section 122 of the CGST Act, 2017, alleging that the Appellant had raised fake invoices without the supply of goods or services. The Adjudicating Authority imposed penalties under Section 122 read with Section 20 of the IGST Act and Section 125 read with Section 20 of the IGST Act. The First Appellate Authority dismissed the Appellant’s appeal and upheld the adjudication order, following which the present appeal was filed before the Tribunal.
The Tribunal identified two issues for consideration at the admission stage:
- Whether the defects pointed out by the Registry had been rectified.
- Whether statutory pre-deposit under Section 112(8) of the CGST Act was mandatory for admission of the appeal.
The Appellant contended that the impugned order related only to penalties and that the proceedings had commenced before 01.10.2025, the date on which the proviso to Section 112(8), introduced by the Finance Act, 2025, became effective. It was argued that the amended provision requiring a pre-deposit in penalty-only appeals did not apply to proceedings initiated prior to its commencement.
