In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court condoned a 285-day delay in filing the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Appeal considering that no physical notice was served.
Tvl. Deepa Traders, the petitioner is a wholesale paint business in Chennai that missed a critical GST notice issued by the State Tax Officer ( STO ) in December 2022. The notice was issued due to discrepancies in the petitioner’s GST returns. The notice was uploaded solely on the GST portal.
In February 2023, the STO took the next step by issuing a demand order against the petitioner. The petitioner only discovered the order when the state tax authorities initiated recovery actions.
The petitioner company filed an appeal with the Deputy Commissioner of GST Appeals in Chennai, but the appeal was delayed by 285 days. The Deputy Commissioner dismissed the appeal outright due to the delay, directing the petitioner to seek relief from the High Court.
Complete Supreme Court Judgment on GST from 2017 to 2024 with Free E-Book Access, Click here
The petitioner filed a writ petitioner before the Madras High Court arguing that the delay was unintentional, resulting from the lack of physical notice and requested the delay be condoned. The respondent’s counsel acknowledged the uploaded notices but insisted that procedural requirements were met.
The respondent’s counsel left the matter to the court’s discretion to condone the delay if reasonable cause was found.
A single bench led by Justice Krishnan Ramasamy noted the absence of a physical notification, which provided a “reasonable cause” for the delay. The court decided to condone the 285-day delay and directed the Deputy Commissioner to process the appeal as if it had been filed on time.
Complete Supreme Court Judgment on GST from 2017 to 2024 with Free E-Book Access, Click here
The court further ordered that the appeal be reviewed on its merits and that the petitioner be granted a personal hearing. Thus, the petitioner was granted an opportunity to present its case without the time delay acting as a barrier.
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