In a recent ruling, the Patna High Court set aside the Goods and Service (GST) demand order passed without mentioning the date that made the limitation to appeal indeterminable.
Patliputra Hytech Infra Private Limited, the petitioner was aggrieved by the order issued by the assessing officer. The Petitioner challenged the impugned order which lacked a specific date, there was no digital signature of the authority, and the Document Identification Number ( DIN ) was not disclosed in the order.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the order issued by the Assessing Officer did not have a specified date. This omission made it difficult for them to determine the limitation period within which they could file an appeal under Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act (BGST Act).
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The respondent’s counsel submitted that the DIN was necessary for uploading the order and since the order was uploaded, it implies that the DIN was present. Regarding the date, the counsel pointed out that the GST DRC-7 form issued was dated 30.09.2023, which provides a basis for establishing the timeline.
For the digital signature issue, the respondent’s counsel relied on a previous court decision in the case of Rakesh Ranjan vs. State of Bihar where it was held that other modes of signature were deemed permissible under Rule 26(3) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of Patna and Justice Nani Tagia observed that while the GST DRC-7 form provided a date (30.09.2023), it cannot automatically be presumed that the order was also issued on the same date.
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The court emphasized that according to Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act (BGST Act), an appeal must be filed within three months with a possible extension of one month if a valid reason for the delay is provided. Without a date on the order, it is impossible to determine the exact limitation period for filing an appeal.
Therefore, the court set aside the impugned order and directed the assessing officer to make a fresh assessment after issuing notice to the petitioner. The petitioner was directed to appear before the Assessing Officer on 25.09.2024 and file objections.
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The court directed the Assessing Officer to schedule a personal hearing within two weeks of the petitioner’s appearance and complete the assessment within one month of the hearing. The petitioner’s writ petition was disposed of accordingly.
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