Reserved GST appeal must be decided on merits; dismissal for non-prosecution after hearing was set aside.
Once a GST appellate authority reserves an appeal after hearing and the record is available for consideration, it must decide the matter on merits and cannot later dismiss it for non-prosecution merely because the appellant is absent. The Punjab and Haryana High Court applied that principle and held the dismissal order to be unsustainable. It set aside the order and remanded the statutory appeal for fresh adjudication on merits after granting due opportunity of hearing.
Issues: Whether the appellate authority was justified in dismissing the statutory GST appeal for non-prosecution after reserving the matter, and whether the dismissal order was liable to be set aside with a direction for fresh decision on merits.
Analysis: The appeal was dismissed for non-prosecution notwithstanding that the matter had already been reserved after hearing. In an administrative appeal, once the authority reserves the case after the record and grounds are before it, the matter is required to be decided on merits rather than being disposed of later for want of appearance. The Court followed the earlier coordinate bench view that reservation of the case obliges adjudication on merits and that dismissal for non-prosecution in such circumstances is not in accordance with law.
Conclusion: The dismissal order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the appellate authority for fresh decision on merits after granting due opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
Final Conclusion: The petitioner obtained restoration of the statutory appeal for adjudication afresh, and the dispute was left open for merits-based determination by the appellate authority.
Ratio Decidendi: Once an administrative appellate authority has reserved the matter after hearing and the appeal record is available for consideration, it must decide the appeal on merits and cannot later dismiss it for non-prosecution merely because the appellant was absent.
TaxTMI 
AI Drafter ✕
TaxTMI 
