Facts of the Case

The petitioner challenged an order dated 25th February 2025 passed by the State Tax Officer, Cuttack-I East Circle, under Section 73 of the CGST/Odisha GST Act for tax periods April 2020 to March 2021, which had been affirmed in appeal by the Appellate Authority on 25th August 2025. The petitioner's grievance before the Orissa High Court was that although Section 112 provides a further appeal to the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), that Tribunal had, until recently, not been constituted or made functional, leaving an aggrieved taxpayer without a forum and effectively remediless against the confirmed demand.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a writ petition remains maintainable once the GST Appellate Tribunal, previously non-functional, has since become operational with a notified appeal-filing window.
  2. Whether the pre-deposit condition under Section 112(8) must still be complied with despite the earlier non-availability of the Tribunal.
  3. Whether the writ court should keep the petition pending or relegate the assessee to the newly functional statutory forum.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner argued that although Section 112 provides a remedy of appeal to the GSTAT, that Tribunal had not been constituted and made functional for a considerable period, rendering an aggrieved person remediless and thereby justifying invocation of writ jurisdiction.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Standing Counsel for the CT & GST Department corroborated the non-functionality point but insisted this did not absolve the taxpayer from complying with the mandatory pre-deposit under Section 112(8) — full admitted tax/interest/penalty plus 10% of the disputed remaining tax, capped at Rs.20 crore — once an appeal is eventually filed.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court noted that a notification dated 17th September 2025 (S.O. No.4220(E)) had since fixed 30th June 2026 as the outer date for filing appeals before the GSTAT for orders communicated before 1st April 2026, supplemented by a staggered filing schedule under a User Advisory for the GSTAT e-Filing Portal, based on the date the first appeal (APL-01/03) was filed or the revisional notice (RVN-01) issued.
  • Holding that it is settled law that a writ court may entertain a challenge only where the statutory forum is non-functional, and that since the GSTAT has now been constituted and made functional with a defined filing timeline, it would not be proper to keep the writ petition pending — a person cannot claim inhibition-free writ relief once a functional statutory forum with defined conditions exists.
  • The writ petition was disposed of directing the petitioner to deposit the amount required under Section 112(8) if not already deposited, and to file the second appeal before the GSTAT within the staggered timeline notified, with the Tribunal directed to entertain the appeal if filed in order, expressly without expressing any opinion on the merits of the first appellate order.

Important Clarification

  • With the GST Appellate Tribunal now functional and a defined staggered filing window notified (running through 30 June 2026 depending on when the first appeal/revisional notice was filed), writ courts are declining to keep pending petitions alive merely on the ground of earlier Tribunal non-functionality.
  • The mandatory pre-deposit under Section 112(8) — full admitted liability plus 10% of the disputed remaining tax, capped at Rs.20 crore — remains a condition precedent for filing the second appeal, irrespective of the Tribunal's earlier non-availability.
  • Taxpayers whose first-appeal orders are pending or already passed must track the staggered GSTAT filing schedule tied to their APL-01/03/RVN-01 dates rather than assume an open-ended limitation.

Sections Involved

  • Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – provides the second appellate remedy to the GST Appellate Tribunal, including the pre-deposit condition under sub-section (8).
  • Section 107 of the CGST/Odisha GST Act, 2017 – governs the first appeal, whose order dated 25.08.2025 was under challenge.
  • Notification S.O. No.4220(E) dated 17.09.2025 – fixes the outer date and staggered schedule for filing GSTAT appeals.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of without a decision on the underlying tax merits — the assessee was directed to the newly functional GSTAT within the staggered timeline, making this a procedural outcome rather than a clean win for either side.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Orissa at Cuttack
Case No.: W.P.(C) No.32817 of 2025
Coram: Hon'ble The Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Murahari Sri Raman
Date of Order: 27.11.2025

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