A 73-day delay in filing GST appeal by the assessee was condoned by the Madras High Court appearing genuine. The court considered the submission of the assessee that he was unaware of the proceedings initiated as the notices were sent to the former consultant.
The petitioner’s counsel, V.Haribabu argued that the notices and communications from the GST authorities were directed to a former consultant. Consequently, the petitioner, unaware of these notices, failed to respond within the stipulated time.
The impugned order was passed without granting the petitioner a personal hearing, and notifications were again sent to the former consultant’s email. This led to a delay of 73 days in filing an appeal against the order. Despite this delay, the appeal was not considered by the respondents.
The counsel requested the court to condone the delay, asserting that the respondents lacked jurisdiction to entertain the delay application. The aim was to secure one final opportunity to present the case before the relevant Appellate Authority.
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The Government Advocate for the respondents acknowledged that although notices were properly sent, the petitioner had not utilized the opportunities provided, leading to the impugned order. Nevertheless, the respondent agreed to the court’s intervention to condone the delay and accept the appeal.
The bench of Justice Krishnan Ramasamy found that the assessee’s failure to file the appeal on time was due to genuine reasons. The delay was attributed to the notices being sent to a former consultant rather than the petitioner. Satisfied with the explanations provided, the court decided to condone the 73-day delay.
The court issued the following orders:
With these directives, the court disposed of the writ petition without imposing costs. The connected miscellaneous petitions were also closed.
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