2022 (12) TMI 548 - HC - GST

Cancellation of registration of petitioner - appeal dismissed on the ground of being time barred - HELD THAT - By order of Apex Court dated 10.01.2022 2022 (1) TMI 385 - SC ORDER the period of limitation would start running from 01.03.2022 and, as such, appeal filed by the petitioner was well within time as provided under 107 of the Act of 2017. In view of the said fact the order passed by the first appellate authority on 29.07.2022 is hereby set-aside. Appellate authority is directed to decide the appeal afresh on merits within a period of one month from the date of production of certified copy of this order. Writ petition stands partly allowed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Cancellation of registration by Assistant Commissioner, CGST, Sector-3, Gautam Budh Nagar.
2. Dismissal of appeal by first appellate authority on the ground of being time-barred.

Analysis:
1. The writ petition challenged the cancellation of registration by the Assistant Commissioner and the dismissal of the appeal by the first appellate authority due to being time-barred. The petitioner, engaged in manufacturing and sales of machinery parts, had filed returns until October 2019. However, a show cause notice was issued by the department, which went unaddressed by the petitioner, leading to the cancellation of registration on 24.10.2019. An appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was filed on 09.06.2022. The first appellate authority dismissed the appeal citing that the appeal was beyond the 90-day limitation period prescribed under the Act, with the last date being 23.01.2020.

2. The petitioner argued that the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 was excluded for limitation purposes based on an order of the Apex Court dated 10.01.2022. According to the petitioner, the limitation period started from 01.03.2022, and the appeal filed on 09.06.2022 was within the prescribed time. The petitioner relied on the Apex Court's decision in Writ-C No. 03 of 2020 and cited other relevant cases. The respondent's counsel did not contest the legal proposition established by the Apex Court.

3. After considering the arguments and the Apex Court's order dated 10.01.2022, the court found that the petitioner's appeal was filed within the allowable time frame as per Section 107 of the Act of 2017. Consequently, the court set aside the first appellate authority's order dated 29.07.2022 and directed the appellate authority to reconsider the appeal on its merits within one month from the date of receiving a certified copy of the court's order. The writ petition was partly allowed, providing relief to the petitioner in this matter.