Statutory appellate remedy under GST prevails where disputed facts exist; writ relief and cross-examination order set aside.

Where the dispute involved contested factual questions and the departmental case rested on materials beyond the impugned statement, the proper course was to require the assessee to pursue the statutory appeal under the CGST Act rather than sustain writ adjudication on disputed facts. The writ court's order permitting cross-examination was set aside, and the assessee was relegated to the appellate remedy under Section 107(1). The appellate authority was directed to decide all other issues on merits, without reference to the statement of Niraj Kumar Nathani, and after granting an opportunity of personal hearing, subject to filing within the extended period and compliance with pre-deposit requirements.

---

---

Issues: Whether the writ court's order permitting cross-examination of the witness and entertaining the dispute on disputed facts was liable to be set aside, and whether the assessee should be relegated to the statutory appellate remedy under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Analysis: The dispute involved several contested factual questions and the departmental case rested on materials apart from the impugned statement. In that situation, the appropriate course was to direct the assessee to pursue the statutory appeal under Section 107(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The appellate authority was also directed to decide the matter on all other issues on merits, without reference to the statement of Niraj Kumar Nathani, and after granting an opportunity of personal hearing.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the parties were relegated to the statutory appellate remedy, with the appeal to be filed within the permitted extended period and with pre-deposit compliance.

---