Facts of the Case

M/s Sri Palayi Pappayi Traders, represented by its proprietor Jayaraman, filed a writ petition seeking a writ of certiorari against an order dated 17.03.2025 passed against it (GSTIN 33ATCPJ3758P1ZA) for assessment year 2022-23, assailing it as unconstitutional. Rather than press the constitutional challenge to a full hearing, when the matter came up before the Court, counsel for the petitioner elected to seek liberty to withdraw the writ petition altogether in order to pursue the alternative statutory remedy of appeal under Section 107 of the respective GST Act instead, leaving the merits of the underlying tax dispute to be agitated before the appellate forum.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to withdraw its writ petition with liberty to pursue the statutory appeal remedy, and on what terms.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Sought liberty to withdraw the writ petition so as to pursue the alternative statutory remedy of appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No specific opposition to the withdrawal is recorded; the State appeared through its counsel.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court recorded the petitioner's request and dismissed the writ petition as withdrawn, granting liberty to file a statutory appeal within thirty (30) days from receipt of a copy of the order.
  • It directed that if such an appeal is filed within that period, the Appellate Authority shall consider and dispose of it on merits as expeditiously as possible.

Important Clarification

  • A withdrawal of a writ petition challenging a GST order, where accompanied by a court-fixed window to file the statutory appeal and a direction that the appeal be decided on merits, preserves the assessee's substantive right of appeal without any finding for or against it on the underlying tax dispute.
  • Assessees who choose to test a GST order first through a constitutional writ often find it more efficient, once the appellate window is confirmed to still be open, to withdraw and route the challenge through the ordinary appeal mechanism, which allows a full merits hearing on facts that a writ court would not normally re-appreciate.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107 of the CGST/TNGST Act, 2017 — appeal to the appellate authority against an order of the proper officer.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of as withdrawn with liberty — no ruling on the merits of the underlying GST dispute; the assessee's right to a full statutory appeal was expressly preserved.

Case Details

Court: Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court — Case No.: W.P.(MD) No. 18259 of 2025 with W.M.P.(MD) Nos. 14013 and 14014 of 2025 — Coram: Hon'ble Justice C. Saravanan — Date of Order: 4 July 2025.

Link to Download the Order

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