Manish Kumar Jha vs. Assistant Commissioner Of Revenue, Boi (South Bengal) Durgapur Zone And Ors
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The petitioner, Manish Kumar Jha, filed a writ petition challenging an order dated April 6, 2024, passed by the appellate authority under Section 107 of the State Goods and Services Tax Act and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. At the time of filing the writ petition, the Appellate Tribunal under Section 112(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, had not been constituted. The revenue, represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, Bureau of Investigation (South Bengal), Durgapur Zone & Ors., submitted that the petitioner had an alternative remedy before the Appellate Tribunal. A notification dated September 17, 2025, was subsequently issued, establishing the date by which appeals could be filed before the Appellate Tribunal.
Held
The Court held that the writ petition is not maintainable in light of the alternative remedy available before the Appellate Tribunal. The reasoning was based on the issuance of the notification dated September 17, 2025, which provided a mechanism for filing appeals before the Appellate Tribunal. The notification specified that appeals could be filed up to June 30, 2026, for orders communicated before April 1, 2026, and within three months for orders communicated on or after April 1, 2026. The Court found it was not inclined to entertain the writ petition due to this established alternative remedy. The ratio decidendi is that where a statutory alternative remedy exists and a clear procedure for its invocation is provided, a writ petition should not be entertained. The operative direction was to dispose of the writ petition with liberty to the petitioner to prefer an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal as per the notification.
Key Issues
1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable in light of the existence of an alternative remedy before the Appellate Tribunal under Section 112(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, considering the notification dated September 17, 2025. Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner initially filed the writ petition because the Appellate Tribunal was not constituted at that time, implying that the alternative remedy was not available. Revenue's Argument: The revenue contended that the petitioner has an alternative remedy before the Appellate Tribunal, and the subsequent notification clarifies the procedure for filing appeals, rendering the writ petition unnecessary.
Sections Cited
Section 107, Section 112(1)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
2026 Durgapur Zone & Ors.
Mr. Pranit Bag, Mr. Rita Mukherjee, Mr. Ghanshyam Jha, Mr. Rowsan Kumar Jha, Mr. Rhidhiman Mukherjee,
…for the petitioner
Mr. Vipul Kundalia, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Tapan Bhanja,
Mr. Anindya Kanan,
Mr. Dhirodatto Chaudhuri,
….for CGST Authority
Mr. Tanoy Chakraborty,
Mr. Saptak Sanyal,
…for the State
This writ petition has been filed challenging the order dated April 6, 2024, passed by the appellate authority under Section 107 of the State Goods and Services Tax Act and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State submits that the petitioner now has an alternative remedy before the Appellate Tribunal constituted under Section 112(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. It appears that, at the time of filing of the writ petition, the Appellate Tribunal under Section 112(1) of the Central Goods
2 and Services Tax Act, 2017 had not been constituted. It further appears that a notification dated September 17, 2025 has since been issued by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, which reads as follows:- “S.O. 4220(E). – 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 upto which appeal may be filed before 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.” In view of the aforesaid, I am not inclined to entertain the present writ petition. Accordingly, WPA 23436 of 2024 is disposed of, with liberty to the petitioner to prefer an appeal in terms of the aforesaid notification dated September 17, 2025 before the Appellate Tribunal. There shall be no order as to costs. Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties on usual undertaking.
(Kausik Chanda, J.)
Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.