Inadvertent Non-Compliance of Pre-Deposit Condition: Madras HC Restores GST Appeal on conditions [Read Order]

The Madras High Court has restored a Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) appeal considering the petitioner’s inadvertent failure to pay the mandatory 10% pre-deposit and directed the petitioner to deposit the pre-deposit amount within two weeks and ordered the appellate authority to hear and dispose of the appeal within three months thereafter.

Arun Traders, represented by its proprietor R. Arunraj, filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The petition challenged Notification No. 56/2023-Central Tax dated 28.12.2023, G.O.(Ms) No. 1 dated 02.01.2024, and an assessment order for the Assessment Year 2018-2019.

The petitioner had filed an appeal against the assessment order on 16.08.2024 before the Appellate Deputy Commissioner (ST), Goods and Services Tax. However, the appeal was rejected due to non-compliance with the mandatory pre-deposit requirement.

The counsel for the petitioner argued that the failure to pay the 10% pre-deposit was inadvertent and that the rejection of the appeal without sufficient opportunity for a hearing violated principles of natural justice.

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The counsel requested the court to restore the appeal upon payment of the pre-deposit and to set a timeframe for its disposal.

On the other hand, the respondent contended that the writ petition was not maintainable as the petitioner had not challenged the appellate authority’s rejection order.

The Respondent argued that the dismissal was justified due to the petitioner’s failure to comply with the statutory pre-deposit requirement.

Justice Vivek Kumar Singh observed that the petitioner’s failure to deposit the pre-deposit was due to inadvertence. The court directed the petitioner to pay the required pre-deposit within two weeks from the receipt of the court’s order in the interest of justice.

The court directed the appellate authority to restore the appeal and pass orders on merits after providing the petitioner a fair hearing, within three months. The court set aside the rejection order with conditions to pay pre-deposit.

The court disposed of the writ petition and connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.

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