2024 (2) TMI 186 - HC - GST

Admission of appeal - petitioner contended that as the learned Proper Officer has passed the order under Section 73 of OGST Act on 06.06.2023, i.e., after the cut-off date, the appeal is not being admitted - HELD THAT - The notification which was brought out on 02.11.2023 only permits appeal to be filed from orders passed by the proper officer on or before 31.03.2023, in case it was not instituted in time or within the time permitted for a delayed appeal, and in case where such delayed appeal preferred beyond the stipulated period in Section 107 (4) of the act has been rejected. The petitioner would not squarely fall under the notification. The division bench opined that the petitioner also can be allowed to comply with the conditions in Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023 upon which the order passed in appeal would stand set aside and a fresh consideration will be made by the first Appellate Authority. The matter requires consideration by the 1st Appellate Authority in accordance with law taking into account that the appeal has been filed before 31.01.2024 and the appeal filed under Annexure-2 admitted in terms of the notification no.53/2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023. Petition disposed off by way of remand.

Summary

Issues:
The issues involved in the judgment are related to the admission of an appeal filed by the petitioner under the OGST Act, based on the timeline of the order passed by the Proper Officer and the applicability of a specific notification dated 02.11.2023.

Admission of Appeal:
The petitioner approached the Court as the appeal filed was not admitted by the opposite party no.1 due to the order passed by the Proper Officer after the cut-off date. The petitioner argued that a notification dated 02.11.2023 restricted their ability to avail the scheme for cases where orders were passed prior to 31.03.2023. The High Court of Judicature at Patna considered a similar matter and observed that the date of 31.03.2023 as a cut-off date was not rational, given that the notification was issued on 02.11.2023. The Division Bench opined that the petitioner should be allowed to comply with the conditions of the notification, leading to the setting aside of the original order for a fresh consideration by the Appellate Authority.

Court's Decision:
The Court, in line with the observations made by the High Court of Judicature at Patna, directed that the matter be considered by the 1st Appellate Authority in accordance with the law. The Court emphasized that the appeal was filed before the specified deadline and should be admitted under the provisions of the notification dated 02.11.2023. Consequently, the writ petition was disposed of with this direction for further action by the Appellate Authority.