M/S.Paradeep Phosphates LTD., Bbsr vs. Union Of INDIA
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORDER 05.02.2026 01. 1. Challenging the impugned Order-in-Appeal No.6- 11/GST/BBSR-GST/2025, dated 2nd May, 2025 vide Annexure-1 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), GST, Bhubaneswar, wherein and whereby the appeal directed against Order-in-Original No.ADC/BBSR/GST-140/2024, dated 31st December, 2024 by the petitioner was rejected by confirming the demands of duty, interest and penalties as imposed vide order dated 31st December, 2024, the instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner beseeches to exercise power of extraordinary juri iction under the provisions of Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India with the following prayer(s):
“It is, therefore, most humbly prayed that in the facts and circumstances aforesaid, this Honourable Court may graciously be pleased to:-
(a) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or a Writ in nature of Certiorari or any other Writ/s, Order/s and/or Direction/s under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to quash and set aside the impugned Order-in-Appeal No.6-11/GST/BBSR-GST/2025 dated 02-05-2025 (Annexure-1), passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), GST, Bhubaneswar; (b) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other Writ/s, Order/s and/or Direction/s under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, directing the Opposite Parties herein to drop the demands of tax, interest and penalty; (c) Direct the Opposite Parties for Costs of and incidental to this Writ Petition; and (d) Pass such further or other Writ/s, Order/s and/or Direction/s be passed and/or Direction/s be given as to which this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper. And for this act of kindness, the Petitioner as in duty bound shall ever pray.”
The petitioner, a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956, engaged in the business of manufacturing Fertilizers falling under Chapter-31 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, entered an agreement for supply of water for the purpose of industrial/commercial use from Talanda reservoir with the Government of Odisha vide 7th November, 2023. 2. 1. On the premise that Talanda canal falls under the category of “allocation/auction of natural resources”, the petitioner is liable to pay service tax, show-cause notice dated 18th April, 2019 pertaining to the transactions for the period from 1st April, 2016 to 30th June, 2017 being issued, on 9th January, 2020 detailed reply
was filed with plea that the agreement with the Government of Odisha is for sale/supply of water not for supply of services.
Therefore, the Joint Commissioner, CGST & Central Excise, Bhubaneswar vide order dated 30th March, 2020 in Order-in-Original No.JC/BBSR/ST-16/2020 directed the petitioner to pay the entire demand proposed in the show-cause notice dated 18th April, 2019, which was subject matter of challenge in the Appeal bearing No.47/ST/BBSR-GST/2020 on 5th October, 2020. Said Appeal got rejected vide Order-in- Appeal No.60/ST/BBSR-GST/2023, dated 13th April, 2023 by the Commissioner (Appeals), GST, Central Excise and Customs, Bhubaneswar. Therefore, the petitioner filed Service Tax Appeal No.75592 of 2024 before the learned Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata (for short, “the CESTAT”).
The learned CESTAT vide order No.76069 of 2024, dated 7th June, 2024 set aside the impugned order and allowed
the appeal filed by the petitioner. Therefore, the issues raised between the parties are settled.
By issue of notice in Form GST DRC-01A dated 16th July, 2024 for the tax periods from July, 2017 to March, 2023 the petitioner was requested to pay GST liability under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017/Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (collectively, “the GST Act”). The petitioner filed response on 25th July, 2024. The Additional
Commissioner, CGST and Central Excise, Bhubaneswar-opposite party no.3 vide show-cause Notice No.19/LTG-01/2024, dated 6th July, 2024 issued a Show Cause Notice (SCN) to the petitioner to pay demand of Rs.6,79,70,322/- along with interest and penalty. Therefore, the petitioner vide letter dated 12th August, 2024 submitted reply and personal hearing was granted on 30th September, 2024. 2. 5. The opposite party no.3 vide Order-in-Original No.ADC/BBSR/GST-140/2024, dated 31st December, 2024 directed the petitioner to pay an amount of Rs.6,79,70,322/- along with interest and penalty. Challenging the same, the petitioner vide Form GST APL-01 filed an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals), CGST Bhubaneswar, which was rejected vide order dated 2nd May, 2025 (Annexure-1) by confirming the order dated 31st December, 2024 passed by the opposite party no.3. 2. 6. Aggrieved by the said order dated 2nd May, 2025, the petitioner has approached this Court by way of filing this instant writ petition beseeching indulgence.
Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that since the dispute was settled vide Final Order No.76069 of 2024, dated 7th June, 2024 passed by the learned CESTAT, the proceeding is wholly unwarranted and illegal.
He further submitted that Commissioner (Appeals), CGST, Bhubaneswar without considering the factual details and submissions made by the petitioner having rejected the appeal, his order is not only bad in law, but also smacks arbitrariness and contrary to the settled principles of law and, therefore, it is prayed that the order(s) does require to be declared non est as it violates the principles of natural justice.
At this stage, Mr. Bismay Anand Prusty, learned Senior Standing Counsel for the CT & GST Department strongly opposing the contention of the learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner submitted that once the petitioner has chosen to avail alternative remedy provided under the GST Act by filing appeal, in the event of dismissal of appeal, he could not abandon the method and procedure prescribed for challenging the said appellate order. This writ petition is not entertainable inasmuch as the petitioner has approached this Court by circumventing statutory provisions.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for the CT and GST Department.
Perused the record.
Having found that the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner can very well be taken as ground of appeal before the Goods and Services Appellate Tribunal under Section 112 of the GST Act, this Court without expressing any opinion on the merit of the matter wishes to relegate the Petitioner to avail the alternative remedy.
Section 112(8) of the GST Act is reproduced hereunder: “(8) No appeal shall be filed under sub-section (1), unless the appellant has paid—
(a) in full, such part of the amount of tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty arising from the impugned order, as is admitted by him, and (b) a sum equal to ten per cent. of the remaining amount of tax in dispute, in addition to the amount paid under sub-section (6) of section 107, arising from the said order, subject to a maximum of twenty crore rupees, in relation to which the appeal has been filed. Provided that in case of any order demanding penalty without involving demand of any tax, no appeal shall be filed against such order unless a sum equal to ten per cent. of the said penalty, in addition to the amount payable under the proviso to sub-section (6) of section 107 has been paid by the appellant.]”
It has been brought to our notice that the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance issued a notification being S.O. No.4220(E) dated 17th September, 2025 providing an opportunity to an aggrieved person to file an appeal in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which reads as follows: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section(1) of Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017), the Government, on the recommendations of the Council, hereby notifies the 30th day of June, 2026, as the date up to which appeal may be filed by the Appellate Tribunal under this Act in respect of all cases where the order sought to be appealed against is communicated to the person preferring the appeal before the 1st day of April, 2026 and all appeals in respect of order communicated on or after 1st April, 2026 may be filed before the Appellate Tribunal within three months from the date on which such order is communicated to the person preferring the appeal.”
Apropos the same and in order to facilitate smooth filing of an appeal before the said Tribunal, a ‘User Advisor for the GSTAT e-Filing Portal’ is also issued by the authorities containing the timeline within which the appeal can be filed before the GSTAT in the following: “User Advisory for the GSTAT E-Filing Portal Please note that this advisory is only a snapshot for the entire appeal filing process. For detailed understanding and in order to have a seamless experience on the portal, users are advised to refer to the E- filing user manual, FAQs and user videos. Important Timelines → Staggered Filing Period (Until December 31st, 2025):- The filing window for second appeals filing is based on staggering of the ARN/CRN of first appeal filed in APL-01/03 before the Appellate Authority or the notice in RVN-01 issued by the Revisional Authority. The system first validates the ARN/CRN date and only upon successful validation of the date of the ARN/CRN of the APL-01/APL-03/RVN-01, the appellant can proceed further to Login/Registration. The schedule for filing is as follows: TABLE Sl. No. Period of filing appeal in Form APL-01 or APL-03 under section 107 of the Act or issuance of notice in Form RVN-01 in terms of section 108 of the Act. Period during which the appeal under section 112 of the Act before the GSTAT may be filed 1 Such orders of the Appellate authorities or revisional authorities sought to be appealed before the appellate tribunal where the Appeal in Form GST APL-01 or GST APL-03 or notice in Form GST RVN-01 filed or, as the case may be, issued on the common portal on or before 31.01.2022 Period commencing on 24.09.2025 and ending on 31.10.2025 or any date succeeding such date being not later than 30.06.2026 2 Such orders of the Appellate authorities or revisional authorities Period commencing on 01.11.2025 and ending on sought to be appealed before the appellate tribunal where the Appeal in Form GST APL-01 or GST APL-03 or notice in Form GST RVN-01 filed or, as the case may be, issued on the common portal on or after 01.02.2022 but on or before 28.02.2023 30.11.2025 or any date succeeding such date being not later than 30.06.2026 3 Such orders of the Appellate authorities or revisional authorities sought to be appealed before the appellate tribunal where the Appeal in Form GST APL-01 or GST APL-03 or notice in Form GST RVN-01 filed or, as the case may be issued on the common portal on or after 01.03.2023 but on or before 31.01.2024 Period commencing on 01.12.2025 and ending on 31.12.2025 or any date succeeding such date being not later than 30.06.2026 4 Such orders of the Appellate authorities or revisional authorities sought to be appealed before the appellate tribunal where the Appeal in Form GST APL-01 or GST APL-03 or notice in Form CST RVN-01 filed or, as the case may be, issued on the common portal on or after 01.02.2024 but on or before 31.05.2024 Period commencing on 01.01.2026 and ending on 31.01.2026 or any date succeeding such date being not later than 30.06.2026 5 Such orders of the Appellate authorities or revisional authorities sought to be appealed before the appellate tribunal where the Appeal in Form GST APL-01 or GST APL-03 or notice in Form GST RVN-01 filed or, as the case may be, issued on the common portal on or after 01.06.2024 but on or before 31.03.2026 Period commencing on 01.02.2026 or any date succeeding such date being not later than 30.06.2026 → It may be noted that if an appeal before the GSTAT relating to any ARN/CRN could not be filed within the window scheduled for it, the appellant can still come on any subsequent date but before 30th June, 2026. → It may further be noted that appeals before the GSTAT against any order of the appellate/revisional authority in APL-04 that has been communicated on or after 1st April, 2026 shall have to filed before the appellate Tribunal within three months of the order of APL-04 being communicated. → Appeals before the GSTAT in cases where the appeal in APL- 01/03 or notices in RVN-01 are not available in the GSTN system: for all the Appeals filed before the Appellate authority or notices of the Revisional authority where the ARN/CRN is not available in the GSTN system, the filing window will open from the midnight of 31st December 2025 and will expire on June 30. 2026. → Thus, users are strongly advised not to hurry since more than sufficient time has been provided for filing appeals before the GSTAT wherever the orders in APL-04 have been issued on or before 31st March 2026. ***”
It is also brought to the notice that certain modifications are made by Order dated 24.09.2025 of the President, GST Appellate Tribunal and said Order has been revoked with following Order dated 16.12.2025:
“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 123 of the aforesaid Rules (Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025), the undersigned is pleased to revoke the Order dated 24.09.2025 with effect from 18.12.2025. This revocation shall not impugn the validity of any appeals lodged pursuant to the prior order before 18.12.2025. This order is without prejudice to the powers of the Appellate Tribunal under Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.”
It is no longer res integra that the Writ Court can be approached assailing an order for which the forum of appeal is provided and the same is entertainable in the event the forum is not made functional or constituted as the person cannot be rendered remediless. Equally it is true that if conditions are attached to filing an appeal before such forum, the Writ Court shall ensure strict compliance thereof as a person cannot steal a march taking a shelter that there is no inhibition in the writ Court in entertaining the writ petition and passing an order taking departure from the said statutory provision.
Since the forum has already been provided in the statute, which is now made functional and the period for filing the appeal has been specified in the above Notification/Circular/Order, it would not be proper for the Writ Court to keep such writ petitions pending as the dispute raised by the petitioner in the instant writ petition can be adjudicated by the said forum and, therefore, the writ petition is disposed of with the following directions: I. The petitioner is directed to deposit the amount if not already deposited, as required under sub-section (8) of Section 112 of the GST Act before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal to file the appeal within the period specified above. II. The petitioner, as undertaken, shall file appeal as per the timeline given above and in the “User Advisor for the GSTAT e-Filing Portal”. III. In the event the appeal is filed and the same is found to be in order as per the requirement of Section 112 of the GST Act read with relevant Rules framed thereunder, the same shall be entertained by the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal.
This Court makes it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merits on the Orders impugned in the writ petition. As a result of disposal of the writ petition, pending Interlocutory Application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of. (Harish Tandon) Chief Justice (M.S. Raman) Judge MRS/Laxmikant
Reproduced from the public record of the Orissa High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.