GST appellate remedy delay justified interim stay of demand, with continued protection linked to additional deposit terms.

Non-constitution of the GST Appellate Tribunal was treated as a basis for prima facie interim protection where the petitioner had a statutory appeal remedy under Section 112 of the West Bengal/Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. In those circumstances, the Court found a prima facie case for interim relief and stayed the demand in Form GST APL-04 for three weeks. The stay was made contingent on deposit of 10% of the balance tax in dispute, in addition to the amount already deposited under Section 107(6), and the respondents were permitted to seek hearing of the writ petition on the usual statutory terms with exchange of affidavits.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition was maintainable and deserved interim protection in view of the non-constitution of the Appellate Tribunal under the GST enactment, and whether the demand raised in Form GST APL-04 should be stayed pending disposal of the writ petition.

Analysis: The petitioner asserted a statutory remedy of appeal before the Appellate Tribunal under Section 112 of the West Bengal/Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, but the Tribunal had not yet been constituted. The Court took note of that circumstance and found that the petitioner had made out a prima facie case for interim relief. The Court also permitted the respondents to have the writ petition heard on the usual terms contemplated by the statute and directed exchange of affidavits.

Outcome: An unconditional stay of the demand in Form GST APL-04 was granted for three weeks, with continuation of the interim order on deposit of 10% of the balance tax in dispute in addition to the amount already deposited under Section 107(6) of the West Bengal/Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

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