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2023 (4) TMI 705 - HC - GSTPrinciples of natural justice - extension of time sought for filing reply - time extended on the request of the petitioner till 20th April, 2022, but no reply was submitted by the petitioner - HELD THAT - The time for filing reply was extended for the petitioner firstly till 28th December, 2021 but no reply was submitted, thereafter, it was again extended on the request of the petitioner till 20th April, 2022, but no reply was submitted by the petitioner. In the interregnum, on 8th January, 2022 without submitting any reply, he had sought personal hearing. Petitioner's counsel says that certain documents were being demanded by him which were not supplied. If it is so, then all this can be seen in appeal u/s 107. We could understand if a reply was submitted by the petitioner and in such reply the petitioner took the plea about non-furnishing of certain documents and at the same time exercised his option for personal hearing, which is referable to Section 75(4) of the Act, 2017. In such a case, of-course we may have interfered but we see no reason to interfere at the behest of petitioner, who did not submit any reply but sought personal hearing. None of decisions annexed with the petition apply to the facts of this case. However, at this stage, Shri Rohit Shukla informed that against the order dated 21.05.2022 passed u/s 74 of the Act, 2017, the appeal could have been filed within a period of 30 days, which was extendable for one month and no more. We find that this petition has been filed only on 21st March, 2023, meaning thereby the period for preferring the appeal had expired much prior to filing of this petition - Writ petition is dismissed.
Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are related to the opportunity of hearing under Section 74 of the G.S.T. Act, 2017 and the timeline for filing an appeal against the order passed under Section 74 of the Act. Opportunity of Hearing under Section 74 of the G.S.T. Act, 2017: The petitioner received a show cause notice dated 10.06.2021 under Section 74 of the U.P. GST Act, 2017 for the tax period April, 2018-March, 2019. The notice mentioned the option for personal hearing but did not specify the date, time, or venue for the same. The petitioner did not submit any reply by the specified date of 12th July, 2021 but requested an extension. Eventually, on 8th January, 2022, the petitioner uploaded a format requesting an extension for responding to the notice and opting for personal hearing. However, no reply was submitted by the petitioner within the extended timelines. The final order was passed on 21.05.2022, against which an appeal could have been filed within a specific timeframe. The court noted that the petitioner did not submit any reply but only sought personal hearing, which did not warrant interference by the court. The petition was dismissed as the period for filing an appeal had already expired before the petition was filed. Timeline for Filing an Appeal under Section 107 of the G.S.T. Act, 2017: The court highlighted that an appeal against the order passed under Section 74 of the Act could have been filed within 30 days, extendable for one month. The petitioner filed the petition on 21st March, 2023, after the expiry of the appeal filing period. The court observed that the petitioner's attempt to seek remedy through the petition, alleging violation of natural justice, instead of filing an appeal, was an abuse of the court's process. Consequently, the court declined to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and dismissed the writ petition.
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