GST appellate orders dismissing appeals for non-prosecution must still satisfy Section 107(12)’s reasoned-order mandate.

The petitioner challenged three orders of the Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Appeals) dismissing its appeals concerning tax demands for 2019–20 and 2020–21.

The appeals were dismissed after the petitioner failed to appear, although the appellate authority also recorded that it had considered the appeal grounds and available departmental records and found no reason to interfere with the original orders.

The petitioner sought to quash the appellate orders and consequential demand documents.

The High Court heard the petition with the parties’ consent for final disposal.

Whether the appellate authority’s dismissal of the statutory appeals, where the petitioner did not appear but the authority referred to its consideration of the appeal grounds and records, complied with the requirements of Section 107 of the KGST Act, 2017.

Whether the appellate orders should be set aside and the appeals remanded to provide the petitioner a further opportunity to be heard and obtain reasoned decisions.

Section 107(12) of the KGST Act, 2017 requires an appellate order to be in writing and to state the points for determination, the decision on those points, and the reasons for that decision.

The Court also directed compliance with Sections 107(11) and 107(12) in reconsidering the appeals.

It relied on the justice-oriented approach in Bondada Engineering Limited v. Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax and Others, W.P. No. 26900 of 2024, decided 20 March 2025, where an appeal dismissed for non-prosecution was set aside and remanded to allow reconsideration on the merits.

Although the appellate authority noted the petitioner’s non-appearance, it also stated that it had reviewed the appeal grounds and available records before finding no reason to interfere with the original orders.

The High Court held that the impugned orders lacked the determination and reasons required by Section 107(12), and that dismissal of the appeals in this manner denied the petitioner a substantial statutory appellate remedy.

Applying the approach in Bondada Engineering, the Court considered it appropriate to set aside the orders and remit the appeals for reconsideration after giving the petitioner a reasonable opportunity to present its case.

It remanded the appeals to the appellate authority to provide the petitioner a reasonable opportunity and decide them in accordance with Sections 107(11) and 107(12) of the KGST Act, 2017.

The petitioner was directed to appear on 12 October 2026; the appeals were to be disposed of, if possible, within two months of the first appearance.

All rival contentions were left open.