Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Tvl. Ganesha Vilas, represented by its proprietor G. Navaneetha Kannan (GSTIN 33ACHPN4030C1Z8), challenged an ex-parte order in GST DRC-07 dated 05.02.2025 passed by the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Manichalai Assessment Circle, Madurai, for the assessment year 2017-18. The petitioner had suffered the order without contest, and by the time the writ petition was filed, the statutory period for filing an appeal under the GST Act had already expired.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to file a statutory appeal beyond the prescribed limitation period against the ex-parte assessment order.
  2. Whether the mandatory 10% pre-deposit of the disputed tax amount was required where the entire tax component had already been paid and only interest and penalty were under challenge.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The order dated 05.02.2025 was passed ex-parte and the appeal period had already lapsed by the time of filing the writ petition.
  • The entire tax amount had already been paid; the challenge was confined solely to the levy of interest and penalty, so the pre-deposit condition attached to the tax component should not apply.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Additional Government Pleader appeared for the respondent; no independent objection is recorded to the petitioner's factual submission that the entire tax had been paid and only interest/penalty remained in dispute.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court permitted the petitioner to file an appeal within thirty days from receipt of a copy of the order, directing that such appeal shall be entertained without reference to limitation.
  • Since the entire tax amount had been paid and the challenge was confined to interest and penalty, the Court held that the question of making the mandatory pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed tax amount does not arise at all.
  • The benefit of the order was made conditional: if the petitioner failed to file the appeal within thirty days, the benefit of the order would stand automatically recalled.
  • The writ petition was disposed of with no costs.

Important Clarification

  • Where the entire disputed tax has already been paid and only interest and/or penalty remain contested, the 10% pre-deposit requirement for filing a GST appeal — calculated on the disputed tax amount — does not apply, since there is no disputed tax component left to compute the deposit against.
  • Courts retain discretion to condone limitation for filing a statutory GST appeal in appropriate cases involving ex-parte orders, even without expressly invoking Section 5 of the Limitation Act.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, CGST Act, 2017 — appeals to the Appellate Authority, including the pre-deposit requirement under sub-section (6).
  • Section 50, CGST Act, 2017 — interest on delayed payment of tax, forming part of the disputed demand.

Decision – In Favour of

Assessee. The petitioner was permitted to file a belated appeal without limitation bar and without any pre-deposit obligation on the interest/penalty-only dispute.

Case Details

Court: Madurai Bench of Madras High Court
Case No.: W.P.(MD) No. 34098 of 2025 and W.M.P.(MD) No. 26939 of 2025
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice G.R. Swaminathan
Date of Order: 26.11.2025

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