High Court Says Appeal, Not Writ, is Remedy in GST Demand Dispute

High Court Says Appeal, Not Writ, is Remedy in GST Demand Dispute

The Delhi High Court has recently rejected a petition filed by a company, which had challenged a GST order and two notifications. However, the court allowed the petitioner to file an appeal through the proper legal process.

The company, Rama Departmental Store, filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court challenging an order dated 23.04.2024, passed by the tax officer. The petitioner also challenged the validity of two orders and two notifications: Notification No.56/2023-Central Tax dated 28th December, 2023, and Notification No.56/2023-State Tax dated 11th July, 2024. The petitioner claimed that the impugned order was non-speaking and it ignored the reply filed by the petitioner against the show cause notice dated 12.12.2023.

The validity of the GST Notifications is already under review by the Supreme Court (SLP No. 4240/2025), so the Delhi High Court did not decide on that issue. Regarding the impugned order, the bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain observed that the petitioner had replied to the show cause notice and was also given an opportunity for a personal hearing. Hence, the order was not passed ex parte, and it was passed after considering the reply and the hearing. Therefore, the High Court refused to interfere with the impugned order under writ jurisdiction.

The Court allowed the petitioner to file an appeal before the Appellate Authority before 30th September, 2025, along with the pre-deposit. The appeal will not be rejected for being late and will be decided on the merits. The court directed that the GST portal will be made accessible within 1 week for downloading documents.