Piramal Enterprises LTD. Through Authorized Signatory Shri Amit Jain vs. Union Of INDIA Through Finance Secretary

Held

The Court upheld the objection raised by the respondent. It found that the appeal was indeed wrongly filed under Section 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The Court reasoned that Section 117 pertains to appeals against orders of the Appellate Tribunal. As no such tribunal was in existence, an appeal against the order of the Joint Commissioner under this provision was not maintainable. The Court agreed with the respondent's contention that the petitioner's remedy lay in filing writ petitions under Article 226/227 of the Constitution. Consequently, the Court allowed the petitioner's prayer to withdraw the appeal with liberty to file appropriate writ petitions.

Facts

Piramal Enterprises Ltd. (the petitioner) filed an appeal before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh against three appellate orders. The respondents, Union of India and various CGST authorities, raised preliminary objections. The primary objection was that the appeal was wrongly filed under Section 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The respondents argued that appeals to the High Court under this section lie only against orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal, which did not exist at the time. They contended that the petitioner should have filed writ petitions under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India if aggrieved by the order of the Joint Commissioner.

Key Issues

1. Whether an appeal filed under Section 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, against an order passed by the Joint Commissioner is maintainable in the absence of an Appellate Tribunal. The petitioner's side did not argue on the merits of the case as the appeal was withdrawn. The respondent argued that Section 117 of the CGST Act, 2017, specifically provides for appeals to the High Court against orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal. Since no Appellate Tribunal was constituted at the time of filing the appeal, the appeal filed under this section against the order of the Joint Commissioner was not maintainable. The respondent further contended that the appropriate remedy for the petitioner would have been to file a writ petition under Article 226 or 227 of the Constitution of India.