Chattanchal Super Market vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The High Court found no error in the orders of the assessing authority or the appellate authority. It held that if a statute does not confer power to condone delay on an appellate authority, the High Court cannot extend the limitation period in its writ jurisdiction. The petitioner failed to discharge the burden of proof under Section 155 and did not respond to notices regarding the ITC claim.

Facts

The petitioner challenged an order disallowing Input Tax Credit (ITC) for FY 2017-18, which was upheld by the appellate authority. The appellate authority dismissed the appeal solely on the ground of delay, stating it lacked jurisdiction to condone delay under Section 107 of the GST Act. The original ITC disallowance stemmed from a mismatch between GSTR 3B and GSTR 2A, and the petitioner's failure to respond to notices to prove ITC eligibility.

Key Issues

Whether the appellate authority correctly dismissed the appeal as time-barred due to lack of power to condone delay under Section 107 of the GST Act. Whether the High Court can condone delay in writ jurisdiction when the statute provides no such power, and whether the ITC disallowance was justified given the petitioner's failure to respond to notices.