Writ petition against Commissioner’s order withdrawn for appeal to GST Appellate Tribunal.

Writ petition against Commissioner’s order withdrawn for appeal to GST Appellate Tribunal.

Issue:

Whether an assessee should be granted permission by a High Court to withdraw a writ petition challenging an order, in order to enable them to avail the statutory remedy of appeal before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT).

Facts:

• The petitioner-assessee had filed a writ petition seeking reconsideration of an order passed by Respondent No. 1, the Additional Commissioner.
• During the course of the hearing of the writ petition, the petitioner sought leave from the court to withdraw the petition.
• The explicit purpose of withdrawing the petition was to enable the petitioner to avail the statutory remedy of appeal before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), as provided under Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act, 2017) and Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Decision:

The court granted the request to withdraw the petition. Consequently, leave to withdraw the petition was granted to the petitioner, with liberty to file an appeal in accordance with law before the GSTAT. The decision was in favor of the assessee.

Key Takeaways:

• Principle of Alternate Remedy: This case reiterates the fundamental principle that High Courts generally encourage litigants to exhaust available statutory appellate remedies before invoking the extraordinary writ jurisdiction. When a direct appeal avenue exists, it is usually the preferred course of action.
• Liberty to Withdraw: Courts readily grant permission to withdraw a writ petition if the purpose is to pursue a more appropriate statutory remedy, especially if it leads to a more orderly and specialized adjudication of the dispute.
• “In Accordance with Law”: Granting “liberty to file an appeal in accordance with law” means that the assessee must comply with all the requirements for filing an appeal, including limitation periods, pre-deposit requirements (if any), and proper form. The High Court does not waive these requirements but merely allows the assessee to now avail that remedy.
• Efficiency of Judicial Process: Allowing withdrawal in such circumstances promotes judicial efficiency by ensuring that cases are heard in the appropriate forum, which is typically the specialized appellate tribunal for tax matters.
• Assessee’s Tactical Choice: It is a strategic choice for the assessee to withdraw a writ petition to approach the Tribunal. This might be due to the Tribunal becoming functional, or a realization that the issues are more factual in nature and better suited for appellate review.