Fact of the Case:  The petitioner challenged the assessment order dated 25 July 2022 passed under Section 73 of the CGST/OGST Act, 2017 for the tax period April 2019 to March 2020. The said order was confirmed by the First Appellate Authority on 27 March 2023. Aggrieved by the appellate order, the petitioner approached the Orissa High Court by filing a writ petition. The primary contention of the petitioner was that although Section 112 of the GST Act provides for a further appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), such remedy was illusory since the Tribunal was not constituted and functional at the relevant time, thereby rendering the petitioner remediless.

Held by court : The High Court observed that the GST Appellate Tribunal has now been made functional and the Government has notified extended timelines for filing appeals before GSTAT. Therefore, continuation of writ proceedings was not justified. The Court held that while writ jurisdiction can be invoked when statutory appellate forums are non-functional, once the forum becomes operational, the assessee must strictly comply with pre-deposit conditions under Section 112(8) and pursue the statutory remedy. The writ petition was disposed of with liberty to file appeal before GSTAT.