Orissa High Court Refuses to Continue GST Writ Petition After GSTAT Becomes Operational — Fayaj Infratech Private Limited Case

Background and Overview

The Orissa High Court recently disposed of a writ petition filed by Fayaj Infratech Private Limited, directing the assessee to pursue the statutory appellate remedy before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) instead of continuing with the writ proceedings. The decision underscores a well-established constitutional principle — that writ courts should not assume the role of statutory appellate forums once such forums become operational and accessible.

This ruling carries significant practical implications for GST assessees who had approached High Courts solely because GSTAT was non-functional at the time of filing their petitions. With the Tribunal now constituted and an extended timeline for appeal filing in place, the Court made it unambiguously clear that the writ remedy cannot serve as a permanent bypass of the statutory appellate mechanism.

Case Details

The Core Dispute

Fayaj Infratech Private Limited, a company registered under GST, came before the Orissa High Court challenging a demand order raised under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, pertaining to the financial year April 2020 to March 2021. The adjudicating authority had initially passed this order on 1st September, 2025, which was subsequently upheld by the Appellate Authority through an order dated 19th March, 2026.

The assessee's counsel submitted that while Section 112 of the GST Act provides a statutory right of appeal to the GSTAT, this remedy was practically unavailable at the time of filing the writ petition because the Tribunal had neither been constituted nor made functional. Since there was no forum to approach, the assessee was compelled to invoke the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.

The State's Additional Standing Counsel conceded the position regarding the non-constitution of GSTAT during the relevant period. However, the Department firmly contended that the mere absence of the Tribunal did not absolve the assessee of the obligation to comply with the pre-deposit requirement prescribed under Section 112(8) of the GST Act — which mandates payment of admitted tax, interest, fine, fee, and penalty in full, along with 10% of the remaining disputed tax amount, capped at a maximum of Rs. 20 crore, as a condition precedent for filing an appeal before the Tribunal.

Statutory Framework — Section 112(8) of the GST Act

The Court considered it essential to reproduce the exact text of the provision to reinforce its significance:

"(8) No appeal shall be filed under sub-section (1), unless the appellant has paid—
(a) in full, such part of the amount of tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty arising from the impugned order, as is admitted by him, and
(b) a sum, equal to ten per cent of the remaining amount of tax in dispute, in addition to the amount paid under sub-section (6) of Section 107, arising from the said order, subject to a maximum of twenty crore rupees, in relation to which the appeal has been filed."