2025 (4) TMI 624 - HC - GST

Dismissal of appeal as being beyond limitation recording the reasoning as delay in submission of appeal. - HELD THAT - The Central Government in exercise of its power conferred by Section 148 of the CGST extended the time for filing appeal for all the assessee s who could not file the appeal under the time prescribed against an order passed under Sections 73 and 74 of the GST Act. If the said order was passed before 31.03.2023 an additional precondition was prescribed that the assessee would have deposited admitted amount etc. and the additional 12.5% of the remaining amount of tax which is deposited by the assessee. In the present case as the entire amount as assessed against the petitioner has already been deducted no amount has to be paid thus the condition no.3 as prescribed in the Notification No.53 of 2023 stood satisfied by the assessee. The appeal had to be heard on merits and had to be disposed off on merit. The said appeal could not be dismissed as being beyond limitation - petition allowed.

Summary

The Allahabad High Court, presided over by Hon'ble Pankaj Bhatia, J., addressed a petition challenging the dismissal of an appeal due to being filed beyond the prescribed limitation period. The petitioner argued that a Central Government Notification No.53 of 2023 extended the appeal filing deadline, provided certain financial conditions were met, including the payment of 12.5% of the disputed tax amount. The petitioner claimed compliance as the assessed amount was already deducted.The court noted that the dismissal order lacked reasoning and found that the petitioner satisfied the conditions of the notification. It determined that the appeal should have been heard on its merits rather than dismissed for being untimely. Consequently, the court quashed the impugned order dated 30.08.2024, allowed the writ petition, and remanded the matter to the appellate authority for a fresh decision, ensuring the appeal is treated as timely per the notification.