Unistone Panels Private Limited vs. Union Of INDIA

Facts

The petitioner, Unistone Panels Private Limited, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur. The respondents were the Union of India through the Directorate General of Goods and Service Tax, the Assistant Commissioner State Tax, and the Joint Commissioner (Appeals). The specific tax period(s) and the order or action under challenge are not detailed in the provided text. The amount in dispute is also not stated. The procedural history that matters is that the petitioner sought permission to file an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal, which is now functional. The respondents did not object to this prayer.

Held

The Court held that the petitioner should be permitted to prefer an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal. The reasoning was based on the petitioner's request and the respondents' lack of objection. The Court granted permission for the petitioner to file an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal within 30 days from the date of the order. The ratio decidendi is that when a statutory appellate forum becomes functional, and all parties consent, a High Court exercising its writ jurisdiction may permit a party to approach that forum, even if the writ petition was already pending. The operative direction was to dispose of the writ petition, granting liberty to the petitioner to file the appeal. The interim relief granted by the Court was extended for a further period of 30 days. No issues were expressly left undecided.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to prefer an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal, given its current functionality. The petitioner argued that since the GST Appellate Tribunal is now functional, it should be allowed to pursue its appeal there. The petitioner's counsel made this prayer at the outset of the proceedings. The respondents, represented by their respective counsel, stated that they had no objection to the petitioner's prayer to approach the GST Appellate Tribunal. No specific provisions of the CGST Act or Rules were explicitly discussed in relation to this procedural request, nor were any specific circulars or precedents cited by either party for this particular issue.