Alternative statutory remedy bars writ challenge to VAT assessment orders where appellate review is available.

Assessment orders under the Tripura Value Added Tax Act, 2004 were subject to statutory appeal under section 69, with further appeal and revision under sections 71 and 72. The court reiterated that writ jurisdiction should not ordinarily be invoked where the dispute can be examined by the appellate authority, especially when the challenge raises questions of fact and law and none of the recognised exceptions applies. The availability of pre-deposit linked statutory remedies was not treated as a ground to bypass the appellate scheme, and the writ petition was held not maintainable, leaving the petitioner to pursue the prescribed appeal.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging the assessment orders was maintainable in view of the statutory appellate and revisional remedies under the Tripura Value Added Tax Act, 2004.

Analysis: The assessment orders were appealable under section 69 of the Tripura Value Added Tax Act, 2004, with a further appeal and revision mechanism under sections 71 and 72. The assessment challenge raised questions going to the correctness of findings on facts and law, which were capable of being examined by the appellate authority. The case did not fall within the recognised exceptions to the rule of alternative remedy, namely enforcement of fundamental rights, violation of natural justice, or an order wholly without jurisdiction. The existence of a statutory mechanism with pre-deposit requirements was not treated as a sufficient ground to bypass the remedy provided by the statute.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable and the petitioner was relegated to the statutory appellate remedy.

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