Appeal Can't Be Rejected For Failure To Upload Documents On GST Portal Due To Technical Errors: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court stated that an appeal cannot be rejected solely due to the failure to upload documents on the GST portal if the delay or failure is due to technical errors on the portal. The Bench of Justice Krishnan Ramasamy observed that “….an appeal should not be rejected without affording the parties an opportunity to be heard, particularly when the rejection arises...
The Madras High Court stated that an appeal cannot be rejected solely due to the failure to upload documents on the GST portal if the delay or failure is due to technical errors on the portal.
The Bench of Justice Krishnan Ramasamy observed that “….an appeal should not be rejected without affording the parties an opportunity to be heard, particularly when the rejection arises from technical issues beyond their control.”
Facts of the case:
The assessee/petitioner manually filed an appeal before the appellate authority. However, despite possessing all the necessary documents, the assessee was unable to upload the soft copy of the appeal on the GST portal due to technical glitches. As a result, the appeal was rejected on the grounds that only the hard copy had been submitted, and the required soft copy had not been uploaded on the portal.
The assessee submitted that due to these technical glitches, they were unable to upload the soft copy. Although the assessee attempted to upload it, they were unsuccessful due to issues with the portal. The assessee further submitted that if an opportunity is granted, they can upload the required documents.
The department, however, submitted that the appeal was rejected due to the non-filing of the soft copy. They also noted that there was a delay of 1½ months in filing the appeal, which exceeds the statutory limit, and the appellate authority lacks the power to condone such a delay under the law.
Observations of the High Court:
The bench noted that the appeal was rejected solely on the ground that the soft copy was not uploaded due to technical problems.
“This Court acknowledges that the delay in filing the appeal was genuine, as it was caused by these issues during the upload process. In such circumstances, an appeal should not be rejected without affording the parties an opportunity to be heard, particularly when the rejection arises from technical issues beyond their control.” said the bench.
In view of the above, the bench allowed the petition and directed the assessee to file the appeal, both manually and by uploading the soft copy, within 30 days.
Counsel for Petitioner/ Assessee: K.M. Malarmannan
Counsel for Respondent/ Department: G. Nanmaran
Case Title: M/s Shivpad Engineers Pvt. Ltd. v. The Deputy Commissioner
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 355
Case Number: W.P.No.26655 of 2024