Functional GST appellate tribunal bars writ relief; statutory appeal remains subject to mandatory pre-deposit requirements.

Where the GST Appellate Tribunal is functional and appeal timelines are notified, writ jurisdiction should ordinarily yield to the statutory appellate remedy. Filing the appeal remains subject to the mandatory pre-deposit under section 112(8), requiring payment of admitted dues plus 10% of the disputed tax, subject to the statutory ceiling. The writ petition was not examined on merits and the party was directed to pursue the appeal before the Tribunal within the notified window and in compliance with the filing pre-condition.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the writ petition should be entertained when an appeal lies before the GST Appellate Tribunal and the Tribunal is stated to have become functional with a notified filing timeline; (ii) Whether filing of such appeal must satisfy the pre-deposit condition prescribed under section 112(8) of the GST Act.

Issue (i): Whether the writ petition should be entertained when an appeal lies before the GST Appellate Tribunal and the Tribunal is stated to have become functional with a notified filing timeline?

Analysis: The remedy of appeal under the GST regime was available and the Tribunal was treated as functional for the purpose of filing appeals within the notified timelines. The Court reiterated that writ jurisdiction may be invoked where the statutory forum is not constituted or functional, but once the forum is made available, the aggrieved person should ordinarily pursue that remedy. In that situation, the writ Court should not retain the matter when the dispute can be adjudicated by the statutory appellate forum.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not entertained on merits and the petitioner was directed to avail the appellate remedy before the GST Appellate Tribunal.

Issue (ii): Whether filing of such appeal must satisfy the pre-deposit condition prescribed under section 112(8) of the GST Act?

Analysis: The Court accepted that the statutory right of appeal under section 112 is conditioned by the mandatory payment requirement in section 112(8), namely the admitted dues and ten per cent of the remaining disputed tax, subject to the statutory ceiling. The availability of the Tribunal did not dilute compliance with the statutory pre-condition for lodging the appeal. The Court also referred to the notified filing window and the user advisory issued for portal-based filing.

Conclusion: Compliance with the statutory pre-deposit requirement was held to be mandatory for filing the appeal before the Tribunal.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition was disposed of by directing the petitioner to pursue the statutory appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal in accordance with the notified timeline and by requiring compliance with the prescribed pre-deposit condition, without any adjudication on the merits of the assessment order.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an efficacious statutory appeal becomes available before a functional tribunal, the writ Court should ordinarily relegate the party to that remedy, while insisting on strict compliance with the statutory conditions for filing the appeal.

---