Right to file a statutory appeal mandatory before initiating any recovery proceeding: Calcutta High Court

Right to file a statutory appeal mandatory before initiating any recovery proceeding: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court recently held that the right to file a statutory appeal is mandatory before initiating any recovery proceeding.

In the present case, the petitioner/assessee challenged the action of recovery of the demand arising out of the adjudication order by debiting from the electronic credit ledger. The demand was issued without giving any opportunity to the petitioner to file a statutory appeal, which is mandatory before initiating any recovery proceeding, and hence violated Section 78 of the WBGST Act, 2017.

The tax department was directed to refund the money which it had collected in excess of demand in the amount in question, which was required to be deposited as a pre-deposit for the filing of an appeal against the adjudication order within 15 days from the date. The court has imposed a condition that the petitioner will file an appeal against the adjudication order within 15 days from the date. If an appeal is filed by the petitioner within the stipulated time, the appellate authority will consider the issue of limitation by taking a lenient view.

"Liberty is given to the petitioner to file appeal offline since the time to file an appeal online has already expired." said the Court.