“…the Appellate Tribunal is yet to be constituted”: Calcutta HC remits Ex-Parte GST Order back to Appellate Authority [Read Order]
The bench held that a merit-based hearing before the appellate authority is necessary where the GST Appellate Tribunal remains unconstituted.
![“…the Appellate Tribunal is yet to be constituted”: Calcutta HC remits Ex-Parte GST Order back to Appellate Authority [Read Order]](https://www.taxscan.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Appellate-Tribunal-calcutta-HC-TAXSCAN.jpg "“…the Appellate Tribunal is yet to be constituted”: Calcutta HC remits Ex-Parte GST Order back to Appellate Authority [Read Order]")
A Single Bench of Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury, disposed of a petition by remitting an ex parte appellate order to the first appellate authority. The petitioner, Mr. Ashok Kumar Saha, challenged the order dated 20 September 2024 passed under Section 107 of the West Bengal and Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which had rejected his appeal on grounds...
A Single Bench of Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury, disposed of a petition by remitting an ex parte appellate order to the first appellate authority.
The petitioner, Mr. Ashok Kumar Saha, challenged the order dated 20 September 2024 passed under Section 107 of the West Bengal and Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which had rejected his appeal on grounds of limitation despite only a marginal delay.
Senior counsel Himangshu Kumar Ray, Ms. Shiwani Shaw and Mr. Piyas Chowdhury appeared for the petitioner, while the Central GST department was represented by Mr. U.S. Bhattacharya and Ms. Aishwarya Rajyashree.
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The appeal had sought to set aside an adjudication order dated 18 December 2023 under Section 73, covering the tax period July 2017 to March 2018, which was passed ex parte after the petitioner’s adjournment application but without considering his substantive response.
Justice Basu Chowdhury observed that the GST framework envisages a multi-tiered adjudicatory process and noted that “the Appellate Tribunal is yet to be constituted,” making a writ petition less appropriate but underscoring the need for a proper appellate hearing.
The court found that no fruitful purpose would be served in keeping the writ pending and, accordingly, set aside the appellate authority’s September 2024 order and remanded the matter with directions to hear the appeal on its merits, taking into account the petitioner’s Form DRC-06 response filed on 11 October 2023.
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In result, the demand raised by the respondents in APL-04 dated 20 September 2024 for the July 2017–March 2018 period also stands set aside. The court further clarified that no affidavit-in-opposition was called for, and thus the respondents’ failure to file one means their allegations are deemed uncontroverted.
To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE
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