Allahabad HC Excludes Time Spent in Bona Fide Litigation Before HC, SC u/s 14 of Limitation, Allows GST Appeal Before AA [Read Order]
The court allowed GST appeal by excluding time spent in bona fide litigation before the High Court and the Supreme Court under Section 14 of the Limitation Act.
![Allahabad HC Excludes Time Spent in Bona Fide Litigation Before HC, SC u/s 14 of Limitation, Allows GST Appeal Before AA [Read Order]](https://www.taxscan.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/allahabad-hc-Bona-Fide-Litigation-GST-TAXSCAN.jpg "Allahabad HC Excludes Time Spent in Bona Fide Litigation Before HC, SC u/s 14 of Limitation, Allows GST Appeal Before AA [Read Order]")
In a recent judgment, the Allahabad High Court allowed the petitioner to pursue their statutory appeal before the appellate authority by excluding the time spent in bona fide litigation before the High Court and the Supreme Court under Section 14 of the Limitation Act. Simla Gomti Pan Products, through its director Megh Raj Singh, had challenged the dismissal of its appeal because the...
In a recent judgment, the Allahabad High Court allowed the petitioner to pursue their statutory appeal before the appellate authority by excluding the time spent in bona fide litigation before the High Court and the Supreme Court under Section 14 of the Limitation Act.
Simla Gomti Pan Products, through its director Megh Raj Singh, had challenged the dismissal of its appeal because the appeal was filed beyond the prescribed limitation period under Section 107 of the GST Act.
The appeal was filed against an ex-parte assessment order dated 12.06.2024, passed under Section 74 of the GST Act, which was issued without granting the petitioner an opportunity for hearing or sharing the SIB (Special Investigation Branch) report that formed the basis of the assessment.
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The petitioner initially approached the Allahabad High Court through Writ Tax No. 220 of 2024, where the court directed that if the petitioner filed its reply within ten days, it would be considered on the merits. The court also directed the authorities to provide the SIB report.
The petitioner’s Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s directions was dismissed on 04.11.2024, without entering into the merits of the order. Following this, the petitioner filed a statutory appeal on 06.11.2024, which was dismissed by the appellate authority as being time-barred and for non-deposit of the mandatory 10% pre-deposit.
The counsel for the petitioner argued that the delay in filing the appeal should be condoned by applying Section 14 of the Limitation Act, as the petitioner was bona fide pursuing remedies before the High Court and the Supreme Court. The GST department opposed the plea, arguing that the appeal was rightly dismissed as time-barred and that there was no provision under the GST Act to condone the delay beyond the prescribed period.
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A single bench led by Justice Pankaj Bhatia observed that the petitioner had indeed been bona fide pursuing legal remedies before the High Court and the Supreme Court. The court held that the appellate authority failed to consider the applicability of Section 14 of the Limitation Act, which permits exclusion of the period spent in pursuing a remedy before a wrong forum.
The court quashed the impugned orders and remanded the matter back to the appellate authority for fresh consideration. The writ petition was allowed, and the petitioner was granted liberty to submit additional documents or case laws before the appellate authority during the reconsideration process.
To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE
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