Ms Raj Trading Company vs. Union Of INDIA And Others

Held

The Court held that the writ petition could be disposed of by granting liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal in terms of paragraphs 4 and 5 of Circular No. 11.07.2024. The reasoning was based on the fact that the order of the Additional Commissioner was appealable, but the GST Appellate Tribunal was not functional. The Circular provided a mechanism for taxpayers to make pre-deposit payments and file an undertaking to appeal to the Tribunal once it becomes operational, thereby staying the recovery of the remaining confirmed demand. The Court did not delve into the merits of the orders passed by the Superintendent or the Additional Commissioner, nor did it decide on the validity of the demand itself. The operative direction was to permit the petitioner to follow the procedure outlined in the Circular.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Raj Trading Company, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Punjab & Haryana challenging an order dated 23.03.2023 passed by the Superintendent, Central Goods & Services Tax Division, Karnal, and a subsequent order dated 24.10.2024 passed by the Additional Commissioner, CGST Appeals, Panchkula. The petitioner acknowledged that the order of the Additional Commissioner was appealable. However, due to the non-functional status of the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal, the present writ petition was filed. The court noted a relevant Circular No. 224/18/2024-GST dated 11.07.2024, issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, which provides a procedure for taxpayers to deposit pre-deposit amounts and file an undertaking for future appeals to the Appellate Tribunal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner can be granted liberty to file an appeal in terms of Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Circular No. 224/18/2024-GST dated 11.07.2024, given the non-functional status of the GST Appellate Tribunal? The petitioner argued that they should be allowed to file an appeal in accordance with the aforementioned circular, submitting the pre-deposit and the requisite affidavit within two weeks. The revenue or State did not record any specific arguments in the judgment.