GST Appeal Filed After 6 Months of Cancellation Order: Patna HC Refuses to Condone Delay as No Procedural Error Found [Read Order]

In a recent ruling, the Patna High Court refused to condone the delay in filing an appeal against a GST registration cancellation order that was challenged more than six months after it was passed, holding that no procedural error was committed by the Appellate Authority in rejecting the appeal.

Lord’s Bhaskar Ventures, a proprietorship firm, filed a writ petition challenging the dismissal of its appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017. The petitioner’s GST registration was cancelled on 09.03.2023 due to non-filing of GST returns for over a year.

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A show cause notice had been issued earlier on 15.01.2023, but the petitioner argued that it was only uploaded on the GST portal and not communicated directly by email or physical service.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that due to lack of proper notice, the firm became aware of the cancellation much later and filed an appeal as soon as possible. The delay, though beyond the statutory period, was not deliberate.

They also argued that the petitioner had since filed the pending returns and had no outstanding tax dues, and was willing to comply with all legal requirements if the registration was restored.

The GST department’s counsel argued that the cancellation and issuance of notice were fully compliant with the law. The show cause notice was made available through the common portal as prescribed under Section 169 of the CGST Act.

They further argued that the Appellate Authority had no power to condone the delay beyond the statutory limit of three months plus a maximum grace period of one additional month. Since the appeal was filed more than four months late, the dismissal was legally correct.

The division bench comprising Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Ashok Kumar Pandey held that the Appellate Authority had acted within its jurisdiction and committed no procedural error in rejecting the appeal as time-barred. The court referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in Singh Enterprises v. CCE, which held that statutory authorities cannot extend limitation periods beyond what is expressly allowed.

The court ruled that there was no justification to interfere with the Appellate Authority’s order. The writ petition was accordingly dismissed.

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