Facts of the Case

M/S JP Construction Co, a partnership firm, challenged an order dated 18.08.2025 passed by the Joint Commissioner (Appeal), Central Tax, Raipur, under Section 107 of the Chhattisgarh GST Act, 2017 in Appeal No. 198(GST)/2025, before the Chhattisgarh High Court under Article 226. Since the second appellate remedy lies before the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), which stood notified for Chhattisgarh but had no President or Members yet appointed, the petitioner could not file a statutory second appeal and instead approached the High Court seeking quashing of the first appellate order.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a writ petition should be disposed of with liberty, rather than decided on merits, where the statutory second appellate forum (GSTAT) is notified but not functionally constituted.
  2. How limitation for filing the second appeal should be computed in such circumstances, and whether recovery should be stayed meanwhile.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Relied on the Court's own coordinate-bench decision in M/s Divya Steels vs. State of CG (WPT No. 40/2023, decided 09.05.2024) and CBIC Order No. 09/2019-Central Tax dated 03.12.2019, which clarify that limitation for filing an appeal under Section 112 runs from the date the President/State President of the Tribunal enters office where the Tribunal has not been constituted.
  • A subsequent notification dated 17.09.2025 also addressed the appeal-filing timeline once the Tribunal becomes operational.
  • Sought disposal of the writ petition with liberty to invoke this provision along with the statutory pre-deposit once the Tribunal is functional.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Did not oppose the prayer for disposal on the terms proposed by the petitioner.

Court Order / Findings

  • Relying on the CBIC's 2019 order and its own Divya Steels precedent, the Court directed that as soon as the President or State President enters office of the GST Appellate Tribunal for Chhattisgarh, the petitioner may invoke the limitation-extension provision to file a second appeal after making the statutory pre-deposit.
  • On such appeal being filed, the appellate authority must decide it strictly in accordance with law, and the statutory stay under Section 112(9) would remain operative until the appeal's disposal.
  • If the appeal is not filed within the prescribed period once the Tribunal becomes functional, the State would be at liberty to proceed with recovery; and if the requisite pre-deposit is not made within 30 days of this order (per CBIC Circular dated 11.07.2024), the order would lose its efficacy.
  • The writ petition was disposed of accordingly with no order as to costs.

Important Clarification

  • Pending constitution of State Benches of the GST Appellate Tribunal, High Courts are uniformly protecting taxpayers' right to a second appeal by tying limitation to the date the Tribunal's President assumes office.
  • The automatic stay under Section 112(9) is preserved in the interim, but this protection is itself conditional on making the requisite pre-deposit within a court-fixed window (commonly 30 days), failing which the protective order lapses and recovery can resume.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, CGST Act, 2017 — first appellate remedy, under which the impugned order was passed.
  • Section 109, CGST Act, 2017 — constitution of the GST Appellate Tribunal and its State Benches.
  • Section 112, CGST Act, 2017 — second-appeal mechanism, including the limitation period and the deemed stay under sub-section (9) on payment of the pre-deposit.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions, in favour of the petitioner to the extent that its right of second appeal (and the interim stay) is preserved once the Tribunal is functional, conditional on timely pre-deposit; the merits of the underlying tax dispute were left open.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur
Case No.: WPT No. 204 of 2025; Neutral Citation 2025:CGHC:60459
Coram: Hon'ble Shri Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi
Date of Order: 12.12.2025

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