GST appellate filing relief granted where portal upload failure blocked appeal, subject to verification of statutory pre-deposit.

Where the appellate remedy under the GST framework was otherwise available but the petitioner could not file the appeal because the order-in-original had not been uploaded on the portal, the HC directed the authorities to facilitate filing of the appeal, including by manual filing if necessary. The relief was limited to enabling the appellate process, and the Court noted that the claimed pre-deposit under Section 107 of the CGST Act was a matter for departmental verification. The direction therefore operated subject to confirmation of compliance with the statutory pre-deposit requirement.

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Issues: Whether the respondent authorities should be directed to upload the order-in-original on the GST portal and permit the petitioner to file the appeal, including by manual filing if necessary.

Analysis: The petition was pressed only in respect of the prayer seeking direction to upload the order-in-original and enable filing of the appeal under the GST mechanism. The respondent authorities stated that the petition could be allowed in those terms. The Court also noted the assertion that the requisite pre-deposit under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 had already been made, leaving verification of that factual aspect to the department.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to the limited relief sought, and the respondents were directed to upload the order and permit the appeal process accordingly, subject to verification of the pre-deposit.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded only to the extent of facilitating the appellate remedy under the GST framework.

Ratio Decidendi: When the appellate remedy is otherwise available and the dispute is limited to portal-related inability to file the appeal, the Court may direct the authorities to facilitate filing and consider the appeal on compliance with the statutory pre-deposit requirement.

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