Digambar Road Lines Vs Commissioner (Appeals) (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court considered a writ petition challenging an appellate order dated 25 August 2025 passed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The appellate authority had upheld the demand of duty, interest and penalty issued in the original order. The petitioner argued that the appellate order was invalid because the appeal itself was non est, claiming that Section 107(6) of the GST Act requires mandatory pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed tax before an appeal can be filed. According to the petitioner, the appeal could not be filed or taken on record without compliance with this condition. Section 107(6) was quoted in full, including the requirement to pay admitted dues and 10% of the remaining disputed tax.
The Court noted that although the provision appears mandatory, the case presented a distinctive fact situation. The petitioner claimed it attempted to upload the appeal through the GST portal but was denied access. This allegedly forced the petitioner to file a physical appeal. The petitioner asserted that multiple requests for access to deposit the required statutory amount were made but no response was received from the authorities. Based on this, the petitioner contended that the appeal decided by the appellate authority was effectively a non est appeal and should not have been adjudicated.
