Statutory appeal and pre-deposit under GST: writ not entertained, with the deposit issue left to the appellate authority.

A writ petition challenging an assessment order under the CGST Act was not entertained because the statutory appellate remedy was available, and the petitioner was directed to pursue that appeal. A prima facie view was noted that the demand in the order-in-original could not exceed the demand in the show cause notice, but the correctness of the pre-deposit amount was left to be determined by the appellate authority. The effect was that the dispute was channelled to the appellate mechanism, with the pre-deposit question kept open for appellate examination.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition was maintainable in view of the statutory appeal under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and whether the issue concerning pre-deposit was required to be examined by the appellate authority.

Analysis: The impugned assessment order was appealable under the statutory appellate mechanism. The writ jurisdiction was therefore not entertained, and the petitioner was relegated to the appellate authority. On the question of pre-deposit, a prima facie view was taken that the demand in the order-in-original could not exceed the demand in the show cause notice, and the correctness of the amount to be deposited was left for determination by the appellate authority.

Outcome: The writ petition was disposed of by directing the petitioner to avail the statutory appeal, with the pre-deposit issue left to the appellate authority.

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