📰 𝗕𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟳𝟯(𝟱) 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 📢 In a significant judgment, the Bombay High Court confirmed that deposits made "under protest" under Section 73(5) of the GST Act can be counted as pre-deposits for filing an appeal under Section 107. The ruling reinforces that procedural or technical requirements cannot obstruct the right to appeal.

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Vinod Metal vs State of Maharashtra 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗼: WP (L) 17026/2023 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 18-July-2023

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 & 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀: The case focused on whether a deposit made voluntarily "under protest" as per Section 73(5) could be adjusted to fulfill the mandatory pre-deposit requirement under Section 107(6) for an appeal. The petitioner argued that this voluntary deposit was eligible to count as the required pre-deposit, despite procedural guidelines suggesting otherwise.

⚖ 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: The court underscored that any voluntary deposit under Section 73(5) should be considered in the overall tax assessment and cannot be dismissed based on technical grounds. It further stated that a voluntary payment is subject to the taxpayer's contentions and should be counted toward compliance if demanded as a condition for filing an appeal under Section 107(6).

⚖ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The Bombay High Court ruled that the voluntary deposit made "under protest" must be included as part of the mandatory pre-deposit for appeal compliance under Section 107(6). This ruling strengthens the principle that procedural or technical details should not defeat the statutory right to appeal.

📜 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: This ruling establishes that deposits made under Section 73(5) are integral to tax compliance and may fulfill pre-deposit requirements, safeguarding the taxpayer's substantive rights against procedural barriers. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗚𝗦𝗧𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮 7503031378