M/S.Agrawal Infrabuild PVT. LTD.,Khurda vs. The Commissioner,CT And GST,Odisha

Held

The High Court held that the order passed by the Additional CT & GST Officer is an appealable one. Consequently, the Court did not delve into the merits of the case or express any view on the substance of the dispute. Instead, it permitted the Petitioner to avail the statutory remedy of appeal. The Court directed that if an appeal is filed by January 16, 2023, accompanied by an application for condonation of delay citing the pendency of the writ petition as the reason for delay, it would be considered by the Appellate Authority in accordance with law. No issue was expressly left undecided, as the Court chose to direct the petitioner to the statutory forum.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Agrawal Infrabuild Pvt. Ltd., filed a writ petition before the High Court of Orissa challenging an order passed by the Additional CT & GST Officer, CT & GST Circle, Jatni. The specific tax period and the amount in dispute are not recorded in the judgment. The procedural history indicates that the petitioner approached the High Court directly via a writ petition instead of availing the statutory appeal mechanism. The Opposite Parties are the Commissioner, CT & GST, Odisha, and others.

Key Issues

1. Whether the order passed by the Additional CT & GST Officer is amenable to a statutory appeal under the relevant provisions of the GST Act. The Petitioner, by filing a writ petition, implicitly argued that the statutory remedy was either unavailable or inadequate, or that there were grounds to bypass it. The judgment does not record specific arguments from the Petitioner regarding the nature of the order or the grounds for approaching the High Court. The Opposite Parties, represented by Mr. Sunil Mishra, ASC, would have contended that the order is appealable and that the writ petition is not maintainable as an alternative statutory remedy exists. The judgment does not record specific arguments from the Opposite Parties beyond their representation.