Writ Petition Maintainable on when Statutory Forum Non-Functional: Orissa HC says GSTAT is Functional, directs to approach Tribunal [Read Order]
The High Court disposed of the writ petition, directing the petitioner to deposit the required pre-deposit amount and file an appeal before the GSTAT within the specified timeline.
The Orissa High Court has directed a taxpayer to comply with the pre-deposit requirements under the GST Act and approach the newly constituted Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), dismissing the writ petition filed as an alternative remedy.
The division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M.S. Raman was hearing a writ petition filed by M/s. SNM Business Pvt. Ltd. is challenging an order passed by the Appellate Authority under the GST Act for the tax period 2020-21.
The petitioner had argued that the writ petition was maintainable because the statutory appellate forum, the GSTAT, had not been constituted, leaving them without an effective remedy.
However, the court noted that the Department of Revenue had issued a notification (S.O. No.4220(E) dated 17.09.2025) making the GSTAT functional and providing a detailed, staggered timeline until June 30, 2026, for filing pending appeals.
The court observed that while a writ petition is maintainable when a statutory forum is non-functional, it cannot be used to bypass the statutory conditions attached to that forum once it becomes operational.
The court pointed that a litigant cannot 'steal a march' by approaching the High Court to avoid complying with the mandatory pre-deposit requirements under Section 112(8) of the GST Act, which requires an appellant to pay the full amount of tax, interest, and penalty admitted as due, and a sum equal to 10% of the remaining disputed tax.
Since the forum has already been provided in the statute, which is now made functional and the period for filing the appeal has been extended in a fragmented manner, it would not be proper for the Writ Court to keep such writ petitions pending as the dispute raised by the petitioner in the instant writ petition can be adjudicated by the said forum and, therefore, the writ petition is disposed of.
Consequently, the High Court disposed of the writ petition, directing the petitioner to deposit the required pre-deposit amount and file an appeal before the GSTAT within the specified timeline. The court clarified that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the original tax order.
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