M/S. Mahendra Pickle Works vs. Assistant Commissioner (S.T.)

Held

The High Court declined to entertain the writ petition on merits, deeming it appropriate to relegate the petitioner to the statutory remedy of appeal before the GSTAT. It granted the petitioner six weeks to file the appeal and directed that the period from the impugned order date to the High Court's order date be excluded for limitation purposes.

Facts

M/S. MAHENDRA PICKLE WORKS challenged an appellate order confirming tax liability on "mixed vegetable cut mango lime" under HSN 0812 (5% GST) instead of HSN 0711 (exempt). The petitioner filed a writ petition before the High Court, arguing the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) was not constituted, after an assessment order under Section 73 and a subsequent appeal. The assessment covered the period November 2017 to March 2020.

Key Issues

The key legal issue was the correct HSN classification and taxability of "mixed vegetable cut mango lime". The High Court's primary consideration was whether to entertain a writ petition when a statutory appellate tribunal (GSTAT) was not constituted, or to direct the petitioner to avail the statutory remedy once the tribunal is functional.