2025 (1) TMI 204 - HC - GST

Amendment made to Section112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 substituting twenty per cent pre deposit to ten per cent for maintaining an appeal before the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal - HELD THAT - As of now pre-deposit has been reduced to ten per cent but however, the same is made effective only from 01.11.2024. It is an admitted position that the GST Tribunals have not been constituted as yet and there is no possibility of an appeal being filed prior to 01.11.2024. In such circumstance we direct that the assessee on payment of ten per cent of the tax amounts in dispute shall be entitled to stay of recovery till the Tribunal is constituted and an appeal is filed within such term as provided therein. Petition disposed off.

Summary

The Patna High Court addressed a writ petition concerning amendments to Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which reduced the pre-deposit requirement for appeals to the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal from "twenty per cent" to "ten per cent," effective from 01.11.2024. The Tribunal has not yet been constituted, preventing appeals from being filed before this date. The Court referenced its previous judgment in *SAJ Food Products Pvt. Ltd. vs. The State of Bihar & Others*, allowing assessees to deposit twenty percent of disputed tax amounts until the Tribunal's constitution.

Key holdings include:

1. Pre-Deposit Requirement: The Court directed that the assessee, upon payment of "ten per cent" of the disputed tax amounts, is entitled to a stay of recovery until the Tribunal is constituted and an appeal is filed.

2. Statutory Stay: The Court mandated that, subject to the deposit of ten percent of the disputed tax, the petitioner should receive the statutory stay benefit under Sub-Section (9) of Section 112 of the B.G.S.T. Act. This stay is not open-ended and requires filing an appeal once the Tribunal is operational.

3. Filing of Appeal: The petitioner must file an appeal under Section 112 of the B.G.S.T. Act once the Tribunal is functional. Failure to do so within the specified period post-constitution allows the respondent authorities to proceed per law.

4. Bank Account Attachment: Compliance with the order, including the ten percent deposit, will result in the release of any bank account attachments related to the tax demand.

The writ petition was disposed of with these directions, emphasizing the need for the Tribunal's timely constitution to facilitate appeal processes.