Dismissal of GST appeal for procedural defect in pre-deposit violated principles of natural justice: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court considered the case of Ssukrit Forwarding Agency, whose appeal was dismissed due to a technical issue with the mandatory pre-deposit under Section 107(6) of the CGST Act.

The agency had already deposited Rs. 85,661 through a challan, but the amount wasn’t debited from its cash ledger, and the appellate authority treated this as non-payment.

The Court said this was only a procedural slip, not a complete failure, and that the appellate authority should have given the agency a chance to fix it instead of rejecting the appeal outright.

Stressing that the right to appeal is important and substance should matter more than form, the Court cancelled the dismissal order and sent the case back to the appellate authority, giving the agency four weeks to correct the defect so the matter can be decided on the merits.