2025 (11) TMI 931 - HC - GST

Appeal allowed without further pre-deposit after Rs. 3,91,976 paid; Section 107(7) stay and attachment set aside

Global Tech Fab Versus Government of NCT Delhi & Anr.

HC allowed petitioner to file appeal without further pre-deposit after noting a voluntary deposit of Rs. 3,91,976, which exceeded the statutory ... Extension of time limit for adjudication of SCN - Constitutional Validity of N/N. 09/2023 and N/N. 56/2023 - adjudication order passed ex parte - violation of principles of natural justice - HELD THAT:- In the opinion of this Court, since the Petitioner has already voluntarily deposited a sum of Rs. 3,91,976/-, which is more than the required pre-deposit for an appeal to be filed under Section 107 of the CGST Act, the Petitioner shall be permitted to file an appeal against the impugned order without any further pre-deposit. In view of Section 107 (7) of the CGST Act, since upon filing of the appeal, the impugned order shall automatically stand stayed, the provisional attachment order dated 11th September, 2025, is set aside. Petition disposed off. ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED 1. Whether Notifications issued purportedly under Section 168A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, extending time-limits for adjudication under Section 73/SGST Act, are valid when recommendation of the GST Council was not made prior to issuance. 2. Whether the extension of limitation for adjudication for a specified financial year can be effected by the impugned Central and/or State Notifications issued after the statutory/previously notified limitation has expired. 3. Whether an adjudication order passed ex parte (without personal hearings and in circumstances where the assessees could not file replies) warrants remedial relief, including remand or permitting appellate remedies, irrespective of the pending challenge to the notifications. 4. Whether provisional attachment of bank accounts under Section 83 of the CGST Act can be continued where the assessee has deposited an amount equal to or exceeding the statutory pre-deposit for appeal and subsequently files an appeal, and the consequence of Section 107(7) (automatic stay on filing of appeal) in such circumstances. 5. The effect of conflicting High Court decisions and a pending Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court on the adjudication of cases raising the validity of the impugned Notifications and on interim and final reliefs. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS Issue 1 - Validity of Notifications under Section 168A vis-à-vis prior GST Council recommendation Legal framework: Section 168A (as invoked) empowers extension of time-limits for completion of proceedings; statutory scheme contemplates a role for the GST Council in making recommendations for extending deadlines. Precedent Treatment: Multiple High Courts have taken divergent views - some upholding Notification No.9 (e.g., Allahabad), some upholding Notification No.56 (e.g., Patna), while others have quashed Notification No.56 (e.g., Guwahati); the Telangana High Court made observations on invalidity and a Special Leave Petition is pending before the Supreme Court. Interpretation and reasoning: The Court recognizes that the core legal question - whether prior recommendation of the GST Council is mandatory before issuance - is currently sub judice before the Supreme Court. The Court refrains from pronouncing on the vires of Section 168A or the impugned Notifications in light of the ongoing Supreme Court proceedings and conflicting High Court precedents. Ratio vs. Obiter: The restraint exercised in adjudicating vires of the Notifications is ratio with respect to judicial discipline and comity (binding procedural posture while higher court considers identical questions). Any observations on merits are treated as obiter pending Supreme Court decision. Conclusions: The question of validity of the impugned Notifications is left open and will be governed by the Supreme Court's determination in the pending SLP; this Court will not decide the vires in the present proceedings. Issue 2 - Effect of issuing Notifications after expiry of prior limitation Legal framework: Statutory limitation and the temporal operation of notifications extending limitation; premise that a notification extending limitation must be within legal competence and, if conditioned on prior recommendation, that condition must be satisfied before issuance. Precedent Treatment: Related High Court decisions differ; the Court notes specific challenges that Notification No.56 (State Tax) was issued after expiry of limitation under a prior Notification No.13/2022 (State Tax). Interpretation and reasoning: The Court identifies the factual/legal contention that extensions granted post-expiry may breach the statutory scheme if procedural preconditions (e.g., GST Council recommendation) are unmet. However, resolution of such contention requires determination of vires which is reserved for the Supreme Court. Ratio vs. Obiter: Observations about post-expiry issuance constituting potential illegality are obiter in the present judgment, pending authoritative pronouncement. Conclusions: The Court does not adjudicate the legality of post-expiry notifications but acknowledges the contention and defers final determination to the Supreme Court; connected cases may be governed by the eventual higher court ruling. Issue 3 - Ex parte adjudications, denial of opportunity, and remedial reliefs (remand / appellate pathways) Legal framework: Principles of natural justice (audi alteram partem), statutory right to personal hearing and to file replies in adjudication; appellate remedies under CGST framework. Precedent Treatment: The Court notes that numerous petitions raise similar complaints of inability to file replies and lack of personal hearings leading to ex parte orders and large demands/penalties. Interpretation and reasoning: The Court adopts a fact-sensitive approach: while refraining from deciding vires of the Notifications, it identifies that where adjudication resulted in ex parte orders due to inability to participate, fairness may require restoration of opportunity. The Court categorizes petitions into six categories and indicates that, depending on category and facts, reliefs can include remand to adjudicating authority for consideration on merits or permitting pursuit of appellate remedies without additional pre-deposit requirements. Ratio vs. Obiter: The principle that parties unable to avail hearings leading to ex parte orders should, in appropriate cases, be afforded an opportunity to be heard is treated as ratio in the exercise of supervisory jurisdiction; specific categorical reliefs are interlocutory directions (operative in this batch) and thus part of the Court's dispositive order. Conclusions: Remedial reliefs (remand or permission to pursue appeals) are appropriate in many cases irrespective of the pending validity challenge; adjudicating authorities may be directed to reconsider matters on merits when petitioners could not meaningfully participate earlier. Issue 4 - Provisional attachment under Section 83 and interplay with appeal/pre-deposit and automatic stay under Section 107(7) Legal framework: Section 83 allows provisional attachment of property to protect revenue; Section 107(7) provides that filing of an appeal results in automatic stay of the order appealed from; statutory pre-deposit required to maintain appeals (amount and conditions). Precedent Treatment: The Court applies statutory mechanics rather than citing external precedent, noting that deposit of an amount equivalent to pre-deposit enables filing of appeal and triggers automatic statutory stay. Interpretation and reasoning: On the facts, the petitioner had voluntarily deposited Rs. 3,91,976/-, which exceeded the required pre-deposit for appeal under Section 107. The Court reasoned that allowing the petitioner to file the appeal without further pre-deposit was appropriate; once appeal is filed the impugned order would automatically stand stayed by Section 107(7), making continued provisional attachment untenable. Consequently, the provisional attachment order was set aside. Ratio vs. Obiter: The conclusion that deposit in excess of statutory pre-deposit justifies permitting an appeal without further deposit and that filing the appeal automatically stays the impugned order (thus invalidating provisional attachment) is ratio in the context of these facts and the statutory scheme. Conclusions: Where the petitioner has deposited the requisite pre-deposit, the Court will permit filing of appeal without further pre-deposit; filing the appeal invokes automatic stay under Section 107(7) and provisional attachment must be set aside pending adjudication of the appeal on merits. Issue 5 - Effect of conflicting High Court decisions and pending SLP on case management and interim reliefs Legal framework: Principles of judicial comity, stare decisis, and deference to higher appellate authority; case management in presence of conflicting precedents and pending SLP before Supreme Court. Precedent Treatment: The Court records conflicting High Court rulings and the Supreme Court's issuance of notice in the SLP, as well as other High Courts' decisions to stay pronouncement and defer to the Supreme Court (Punjab & Haryana HC example). Interpretation and reasoning: Given conflicting High Court views and the pending Supreme Court adjudication of the core legal question, the Court exercises restraint on vires issues but structures interim reliefs to address individual equities - allowing appeals, remands, or other directions depending on factual categories - while expressly leaving the validity issue open and subject to the Supreme Court's outcome. Ratio vs. Obiter: The procedural holding (to leave vires issue open and to regulate interim reliefs pending Supreme Court decision) is ratio as a case-management and comity directive; commentary on other High Court reasoning is obiterish descriptive material. Conclusions: Conflicting precedents and a pending SLP preclude definitive adjudication on notifications; meanwhile, litigants may be given procedural reliefs (appeal filing, remand, set-aside of provisional attachments where statutory pre-deposit deposited) with all substantive rights preserved and subject to the Supreme Court's final decision. Operative Directions (Contextual Conclusions) 1. Petitioners who have deposited amounts equal to or exceeding statutory pre-deposit may be permitted to file appeals without further pre-deposit; upon filing, appeals will automatically stay impugned orders under Section 107(7), necessitating setting aside provisional attachments made under Section 83. 2. Where adjudications were rendered ex parte due to inability to file replies/attend hearings, courts may direct remand to adjudicating authorities or allow pursuit of appellate remedies so that matters are adjudicated on merits, subject to the Supreme Court's ultimate ruling on the Notifications. 3. The question of the validity of Notifications under Section 168A is reserved for the Supreme Court; all adjudicating authorities and courts are to act in accordance with the final pronouncement in the pending SLP, and interim reliefs granted are provisional and subject to that outcome.