M/S Siba Sakti @ Shiva Shakti Agency vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Siba Sakti @ Shiva Shakti, filed a writ petition before the High Court. The petitioner's primary submission was that since the Appellate Tribunal has been constituted and is functional, the instant writ petition should be transferred to the Appellate Tribunal. The petitioner sought four weeks' time to prefer an appeal before the GSTAT Kolkata under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017/WBGST Act, 2017. They also requested that the period during which the writ petition was pending before the High Court be excluded for the purpose of computing the limitation period for filing the appeal.

Held

The Court acknowledged the petitioner's submission that the Appellate Tribunal has been constituted and is functional. Consequently, the Court found merit in the petitioner's request to transfer the matter to the Appellate Tribunal for filing an appeal. The Court allowed the petitioner four weeks' time to prefer an appeal before the GSTAT Kolkata under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017/WBGST Act, 2017. Furthermore, the Court directed that the period during which the writ petition was pending before the High Court should be excluded for the purpose of computing the limitation period for filing the appeal. The Court disposed of the writ petition with these observations and directions.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition should be transferred to the Appellate Tribunal, given its functional status, for the purpose of filing an appeal under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017/WBGST Act, 2017? 2. Whether the period during which the writ petition was pending before the High Court should be excluded for computing the limitation period for filing an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal? Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner argued that the Appellate Tribunal is now functional, and therefore, the matter should be adjudicated by the Tribunal. They requested time to file an appeal before the GSTAT Kolkata and sought exclusion of the pendency period of the writ petition for limitation purposes. The petitioner relied on the principle that when a statutory forum becomes functional, matters pending before the High Court should be transferred to it, and the time spent in pursuing the writ petition should be condoned for limitation. Revenue's Arguments: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the Union of India or the CGST Authority.