GST statutory appeal may await tribunal constitution when the appellate forum is not yet in place.

A GST appellate order remained challengeable through the statutory appeal framework, but the Appellate Tribunal had not yet been constituted. The removal of difficulties order provided that, in such a situation, the appeal period would run only from the date the President or State President of the Tribunal entered office. The litigant was therefore not required to abandon the statutory remedy and could await constitution of the Tribunal before appealing. As the goods had already been released, no immediate prejudice was shown, and the writ petition was not pursued on merits.

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Issues: (i) Whether the writ petition challenging the appellate order was to be entertained notwithstanding the statutory appeal provided under the GST enactments, when the appellate tribunal had not yet been constituted.

Analysis: The impugned order was appealable under the statutory appellate framework, but the tribunal was not in place. The applicable removal of difficulties order provided that, in such a situation, the period for filing appeal would run from the date the President or State President of the Appellate Tribunal entered office after constitution. In that setting, the petitioner was not required to forgo the appellate remedy and could await constitution of the tribunal. Since the goods had already been released, no immediate prejudice was shown.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not pursued on merits and the petitioner was left to avail the statutory appeal before the tribunal in accordance with the removal of difficulties order.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory appeal is available but the appellate tribunal has not been constituted, the litigant may wait and file the appeal upon constitution of the tribunal in terms of the applicable removal of difficulties order.

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