Statutory GST appeal preferred over writ challenge where exemption documents were not produced before the assessing authority

A writ challenge to a GST demand was declined where the exemption claim rested on contractual documents that had not been produced before the assessing authority, leaving no basis for merits examination at that stage. The appropriate remedy was the statutory appeal under GST law, and the Court preserved that route by directing that any appeal filed within one month be entertained without counting delay. No view was expressed on the merits of the claimed exemption or the underlying tax liability.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition should be entertained against the tax demand, or the petitioner should be relegated to the statutory appellate remedy; and whether any delay in filing such appeal should be ignored.

Analysis: The challenge to the demand depended on the contractual documents said to establish exemption, but those agreements were not produced along with the objections before the assessing authority. In that situation, the authority could not examine the claimed exemption on merits. The proper course was therefore to pursue the statutory appeal under the GST law. To preserve that remedy, the Court directed that an appeal filed within one month would be entertained without taking delay into account. The Court also clarified that it was not expressing any view on the merits of the exemption claim or the tax liability.

Conclusion: The petitioner was relegated to the appellate remedy, and any appeal filed within the stipulated period was to be accepted without reckoning delay.

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