GST appellate remedy deferred until Tribunal is functional, with conditional interim protection against coercive recovery on deposit.

The GST appellate remedy could not be pursued because the Tribunal under Section 109 of the CGST Act was not yet constituted, so the writ petition was disposed of with liberty to approach the Tribunal within three months of it becoming functional. Interim protection was granted on a conditional basis: the petitioner was required to deposit 20% of the assessed tax liability through Form GST DRC-03, and the authorities were restrained from coercive recovery pending disposal of the appeal.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging the order-in-appeal under the GST deserved disposal with liberty to approach the GST Appellate Tribunal after its constitution, and whether interim protection ought to be granted on payment of 20% of the assessed tax liability.

Analysis: The Tribunal contemplated under Section 109 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was not yet constituted, and therefore the challenge to the appellate order could not be pursued before the statutory forum at present. In the circumstances, the petition was disposed of with liberty to approach the Tribunal within three months from the date it becomes functional. For interim protection, the petitioner was directed to deposit 20% of the assessed tax liability under Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 through Form GST DRC-03, and the authorities were restrained from coercive enforcement pending disposal of the appeal.

Conclusion: The writ petition was disposed of by relegating the petitioner to the statutory remedy before the Tribunal, while granting conditional interim protection against coercive recovery.

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