S.107(4) CGST Act | Appellate Authority Can't Condone Delay Beyond 30 Days In Filing Appeal But HC May Consider Exceptional Cases: J&K High Court
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that the Appellate Authority under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act/ J&K Goods and Services Tax Act cannot condone the delay in filing appeal beyond 30 days. Section 107(1) prescribes a three months limitation period for presenting appeals. Section 107(4) of the Act confines the appellate authority's power to condone...
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that the Appellate Authority under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act/ J&K Goods and Services Tax Act cannot condone the delay in filing appeal beyond 30 days.
Section 107(1) prescribes a three months limitation period for presenting appeals. Section 107(4) of the Act confines the appellate authority's power to condone the delay to upto 30 days.
However, a division bench of Justices Sanjeev Kumar and Rajesh Sekhri further clarified that the High Court can exercise its extraordinary writ jurisdiction to condone the delay beyond said 30 days, in extraordinary circumstances.
It cited Jatinder Singh v. UT of J&K (2024) where the High Court had held that “periods of limitation are procedural in nature. Therefore, the prohibition contained in Section 107(4) of the Act of 2017 to condone delay beyond one month cannot come in the way of the Constitutional Court exercising extraordinary jurisdiction to render substantial justice. Therefore, while a statutory prohibition is a strong consideration to be kept in mind, yet it does not bar the jurisdiction of the High Court to condone the delay if it is of the opinion that application of delay barring statute would result in gross injustice.”
In the case at hand, the Court was dealing with a batch of seven writ petitions, seeking condonation of delay of three or more months in preferring appeal from date of Adjudicating authority's order.
It dismissed a petition seeking condonation of six months delay in challenging the assessment order on the ground that petitioner missed the Show Cause Notice and subsequent reminders due to focus on her specially abled child. Court held,
“If such is the reason given by the petitioner to seek condonation of delay for the period beyond thirty days, as prescribed under Section 107(4) of the Act of 2017, this Court cannot, by any stretch of reasoning, bring the case of the petitioner under exceptional circumstances or term it a case of extreme nature to invoke its extraordinary jurisdiction and condone the delay despite there being statutory prohibition not to do so after a particular period. The petitioner has herself remained negligent and remissness in preferring the appeal within time and, therefore, must suffer its consequences.”
Three other petitions seeking to condone the delay were dismissed observing that there was no legal disability which prevented the petitioners from preferring the appeal in time.
Three petitions to condone delay came to be allowed by the High Court, upon observing that the Assessing Authority while passing the assessment order had purportedly failed to take into account the fact that tax had already been deducted at source.
Case title: M/S Multi Trading Agencies v. UT of J&K (and connected matters)
Case no.: WP(C) No.1898/2024 (and connected matters)