In a recent ruling, the Patna High Court restored a previously time-barred GST appeal, referencing a notification from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) that extended the appeal deadline.
This CBIC notification allows taxpayers additional time to appeal orders issued on or before March 31, 2023, under Sections 73 and 74 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax (BGST) Act.
Pramod Kumar Mehta (petitioner), a sole proprietorship firm, had filed a delayed appeal under Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax (BGST) Act. The petitioner’s appeal was rejected as it was filed beyond the extension period (after 4 months including the grace period).
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The main issue concerns whether the petitioner could file an appeal after the one-month extension under Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax (BGST) Act.
The petitioner before the Patna High Court argued that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Notification No. 53 of 2023- Central Tax, dated 02.11.2023 (S.O. 4767(E)) extended the filing period for delayed appeals for the order passed by the Proper Officer on or before 31.03.2023 under Sections 73 and 74 of the BGST Act if specific conditions were met.
On the other hand, the department’s counsel argued that the statutory limitation period under Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax (BGST) Act could not be extended beyond what is expressly provided in the law.
The counsel relied on a Supreme Court ruling that, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, neither the Appellate Authority nor this Court could condone the delay beyond the period provided.
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The bench comprising the Chief Justice of Patna, Krishnan Vinod Chandran, and Justice Rajiv Roy observed that although Section 107 of the BGST Act provides a specific timeline for filing an appeal, Notification No. 53/2023 allows for an extended filing period under certain conditions.
The court noted that this extension required strict adherence to the compliance conditions set out in the notification, including the payment of the admitted tax amount and an additional 12.5% of the disputed tax amount, these payments were to be debited from the petitioner’s Electronic Cash Ledger.
Therefore, the court set aside the initial rejection of the appeal and directed to restore the petitioner’s appeal if the petitioner met all the payment requirements as specified by the notification before the stipulated deadline of January 31, 2024. The writ petitioner was allowed on the above terms.
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