Two GST Appeals filed Challenging Same Adjudication Order: Orissa HC Treats Later Appeal as Non Est [Read Order]

Two GST Appeals Filed Challenging Same Adjudication Order: Orissa High Court Treats Later Appeal as Non Est

In a recent ruling, the Orissa High Court held that when two GST appeals are filed challenging the same adjudication order, the later appeal filed by mistake is to be treated as non est, and the earlier appeal revived by the Court must be decided on merits.

Sumitra Mohapatra, the petitioner, filed a writ petition challenging the appellate order dated 17 January 2025, by which Appeal Case No. AD211224000882P was rejected as time-barred.

This appeal had been filed on 5 December 2024 against the adjudication order dated 4 August 2022 but an earlier appeal, Appeal No. AD211222009941O, had already been filed against the same adjudication order and had been restored by the High Court on 6 November 2023 after the Court took note of Notification No. 53/2023-Central Tax.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that the second appeal was filed under a mistaken understanding, believing another appeal was required even though the earlier one had already been revived for adjudication on merit. The counsel argued that the appellate authority rejected the later appeal solely on the ground of limitation without taking into account that the first appeal was already pending pursuant to the Court’s earlier order.

The department’s counsel confirmed that the petitioner’s factual narration was correct. He stated that the earlier appeal, Appeal No. AD211222009941O, remained pending after the High Court’s 2023 order and that the later appeal dealt with the same adjudication order dated 4 August 2022.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MurahariSri Raman observed that the second appeal had been filed after the court had already revived the earlier appeal and explained that, in such a situation, the later appeal had no legal foundation.

The court pointed out that, since the earlier appeal was already alive and pending, the second appeal was liable to be treated as non est. The bench also referred to Section 107(13) of the GST Act and explained that an appellate authority should, where possible, decide appeals within one year from the date of filing.

The court held that the appellate authority’s order dated 17 January 2025 could not stand, as the later appeal itself had no legal existence. The court set aside the impugned order and directed that the later appeal filed on 5 December 2024 be treated as non est.

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It further directed the appellate authority to take up the earlier restored appeal, Appeal No. AD211222009941O, and decide it on merit after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

The court directed that this process be completed preferably within three months from the communication of its order. The writ petition was disposed of, along with any pending interlocutory applications.

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