Gujarat High Court Stays GST Recovery Amidst Tribunal Dysfunction

Gujarat High Court Stays GST Recovery Amidst Tribunal Dysfunction

The Gujarat High Court has temporarily halted the execution of a dues recovery order, citing that, despite the establishment of the GST Appellate Tribunal, it was not yet operational.

Justices Biren Vaishnav and Mauna M. Bhatt noted that the even though GST Appellate Tribunal has been constituted it is not functioning, yet the competent authorities are issuing orders of recovery and asking assessees whether they have filed an appeal. This contradicts the authorities’ actions.

The petitioner has challenged the Appellate Authority’s order under the CGST by filing a petition since the GST Appellate Tribunal has not been constituted. The Superintendent’s office, AR-V, Division-VI, has begun recovery of penalties based on the order.

The order suggests that the author of the order had expressed the opinion that the petitioner should notify the relevant authority about the submission of any appeal or stay application concerning the Order-in-Appeal (OIA) dated July 31, 2023, and whether the Appellate Authority had granted a stay on that order.

The authority argued that if there had been no suspension or stay granted for the recovery of the outstanding dues, the petitioner was obligated to settle the mentioned dues.

The Court acknowledged that the tribunal was not yet operational, but issued a notice staying the order and halting recovery efforts until the next hearing.