Ashok Kumar vs. The UOI And Others

Held

The Court noted that the GST Appellate Tribunal has now become functional. Consequently, the writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the petitioner to approach the GST Appellate Tribunal by filing an appeal under Section 112 of the CGST Act. The Court granted liberty to the petitioner to file this appeal within 30 days from the date of the order. Any appeal filed within this period shall be treated as having been filed within the limitation period and will be considered and decided by the GST Appellate Tribunal on its own merits. The Court did not decide the substantive issues related to the cancellation of registration or the dismissal of the appeal under Section 107.

Facts

The petitioner, Ashok Kumar Contractor, filed a writ petition before the Himachal Pradesh High Court challenging an order dated 01.09.2025 passed under Section 107 of the CGST Act. This order dismissed the petitioner's appeal and upheld an earlier order dated 18.04.2024 that cancelled the petitioner's GST registration. The writ petition was entertained by the High Court because the GST Appellate Tribunal was not functional at the time of filing. However, the GST Appellate Tribunal has since become functional.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner can maintain a writ petition before the High Court when the GST Appellate Tribunal is now functional, given that the petition was initially entertained due to the Tribunal's non-functionality. Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner approached the High Court due to the absence of a functional appellate mechanism. Now that the GST Appellate Tribunal is operational, the High Court should provide a clear path for the petitioner to pursue their statutory remedy. Respondents' Contention: The respondents did not explicitly argue against the petitioner's right to approach the High Court initially. However, with the Tribunal being functional, the appropriate forum for appeal is the Tribunal as per the statute.