Facts of the Case

The petitioner filed this writ petition before the High Court for the State of Andhra Pradesh challenging an assessment order bearing CTD AO.No.ZH371121OD96731, dated 05.11.2021, passed by the 2nd respondent, an authority of the Commercial Tax Department. At the hearing, the learned Government Pleader for Commercial Taxes-I raised a preliminary objection that the impugned assessment order was appealable under Section 107 of the Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 before the appellate authority, and that the writ petition was consequently not maintainable. The order on record is brief and does not disclose the petitioner's name, its registration particulars, the tax period covered by the assessment, or the specific grounds on which the assessment order was assailed.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the writ petition against the assessment order was maintainable when an efficacious statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 of the APGST Act, 2017 was available to the petitioner.
  2. Whether interim protection against coercive recovery ought to be granted pending the petitioner availing that remedy.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner, through counsel, pursued the writ petition against the assessment order; the order does not record any substantive rebuttal to the maintainability objection or the specific grounds of challenge to the assessment.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Government Pleader for Commercial Taxes-I objected that the impugned assessment order was appealable under Section 107 of the APGST Act, 2017, and that the writ petition was therefore not maintainable.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court found force in the submission of the learned Government Pleader regarding the availability of the statutory appellate remedy.
  • Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the respective cases, the Court granted the petitioner liberty to file an appeal before the appellate authority within two weeks.
  • The appellate authority was directed to entertain the appeal, afford a hearing to the petitioner and the Department, and pass an appropriate order in accordance with law expeditiously.
  • Till the appeal is filed, the respondent authorities were restrained from taking any coercive steps against the petitioner for recovery of the tax amount under the impugned order.
  • The writ petition was disposed of accordingly, with no order as to costs, and pending interlocutory applications, if any, were closed.

Important Clarification

  • Where a statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 is available against an assessment order, a High Court will ordinarily decline to examine the order on merits in writ jurisdiction and relegate the assessee to that remedy.
  • Such relegation is commonly accompanied by a time-bound liberty to file the appeal and a protective bar on coercive recovery in the interim, so that the assessee is not prejudiced while pursuing the statutory remedy.
  • This disposal carries no finding, express or implied, on the correctness of the underlying assessment.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107 of the Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – provides the statutory appellate remedy against orders passed by an adjudicating authority under the GST law, invoked here as the ground for relegating the petitioner away from the writ remedy.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions, without a decision on merits. The writ petition was not allowed or dismissed on the correctness of the assessment; instead, the petitioner was relegated to the statutory appeal under Section 107 of the APGST Act, 2017, with liberty to file it within two weeks. The accompanying bar on coercive recovery until the appeal is filed operates in the Petitioner's favour in the interim, but the outcome is procedural rather than a decision in favour of either the Assessee or the Department on merits.

Related Case Laws

No related case laws are available on this site at present.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court for the State of Andhra Pradesh
  • Case No.: Writ Petition No.9077 of 2022
  • Coram: Hon'ble Sri Justice U. Durga Prasad Rao and Hon'ble Sri Justice Ravi Cheemalapati
  • Date of Order: 11.04.2022

Link to Download the Order

Download the full judgment (PDF)

Disclaimer

This content is shared strictly for general information and knowledge purposes only. Readers should independently verify the information from reliable sources. It is not intended to provide legal, professional, or advisory guidance. The author and the organisation disclaim all liability arising from the use of this content. The material has been prepared with the assistance of AI tools.