Kerala HC extends Time to file Appeal before Appellate Authority for Penalty Imposed u/s 45 A of KGST Act [Read Order]

In a significant ruling the Kerala High Court has granted an extension of time to file an appeal before the appellate authority concerning the penalty imposed under Appeal extension ( KGST ) Act, 1963.

The appellant, a private limited company, was a registered dealer under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 ( hereinafter referred to as the KGST Act ), conducting a bar-attached hotel under the name and style C & R Hotels Pvt. Ltd., at Fort Kochin.

The first respondent issued an order, referred to as a penalty order imposed by a state tax officer against the appellant, imposing a penalty under Section 45A of the KGST Act. The appellant contested the penalty order imposed by the state tax officer before the knowledgeable Single Judge. The Single Judge dismissed the writ petition, directing the appellant to pursue the statutory appellate process before the appropriate appellate authority.

The counsel for appellant Tomson T. Emmanuel raised objections against the penalty order imposed by the state tax officer based on various factual grounds. However, the appellant does not argued that the first respondent issued penalty order imposed by state tax officer without jurisdiction or without giving them a chance to be heard.

The legal question in dispute cannot be resolved through the writ petition, as correctly pointed out by the Single Judge. The appropriate course of action for the appellant was to appeal the penalty order imposed by the state tax officer before the appellate authority. The time granted by the learned Single Judge in the contested judgment for filing the appeal has lapsed.

The division bench of Justice Dr. A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Dr. Kausar Edappagath extended the deadline by an additional ten days for the appellant to file the appeal. If the appeal was lodged within this timeframe, the appellate authority must hear and resolve it within two months, without considering any issues related to time limitations.

The bench ordered that enforcement of the penalty will be suspended until the appeal is disposed of.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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