Natural justice in GST pre-deposit disputes requires notice and opportunity to cure deficiency before an appeal is rejected.

Dismissal of an appeal for an alleged shortfall in pre-deposit under the CGST Act could not be sustained where the assessee was not first given a reasonable opportunity to make good the deficiency; the Court treated this as a breach of natural justice and also noted the non-functioning of the GST Tribunal in assessing the effectiveness of the alternate remedy. The appellate order was set aside, the appeal was restored before the Commissioner (Appeals), and time was granted to cure any pre-deposit deficiency before decision on merits.

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Issues: Whether the dismissal of the appeal on the ground of alleged shortfall in the pre-deposit under Section 107(6) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, without first affording an opportunity to make good the deficiency, could be sustained.

Analysis: The appeal was rejected for an alleged shortfall in pre-deposit. The Court found that the petitioner ought to have been informed of any deficiency and given a reasonable opportunity to cure it. In the circumstances, the Court treated the matter as one involving failure of natural justice and also noted the non-functioning of the GST Tribunal as affecting the efficacy of the alternate remedy.

Conclusion: The impugned appellate order was set aside and the appeal was restored before the Commissioner (Appeals), with time granted to cure any pre-deposit deficiency. The matter was directed to be decided on merits after the pre-deposit issue is resolved.

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