M/S. Abhishek Appliance PVT. LTD vs. Assistant Commissioner, CGST-Delhi North Commissionerate & Ors.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Abhishek Appliance Pvt. Ltd., filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court. On July 3, 2024, the Court had passed an order granting the petitioner an opportunity to file a response before the Proper Officer and a personal hearing scheduled for July 24, 2024. The petitioner, through its counsel, failed to avail this opportunity. Subsequently, the petitioner filed an application seeking modification of the July 3, 2024 order, attributing the oversight to a mistake by their counsel. The respondents are the Assistant Commissioner, CGST-Delhi North Commissionerate, and others.

Held

The Court allowed the application for modification of the order dated July 3, 2024. The reasoning was based on the petitioner's submission that the non-compliance was due to a mistake by their counsel. The Court granted the petitioner an additional one week from the date of the order to file its response to the allegations and submit relevant documents to the Proper Officer. Furthermore, the petitioner was to be afforded a personal hearing before the Proper Officer on August 7, 2024, at 11:30 AM. The order dated July 3, 2024, was modified to this extent. No specific issues were left undecided.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be granted a further opportunity to file its response and be afforded a personal hearing, despite having missed the opportunity granted by the Court's previous order dated July 3, 2024, due to counsel's oversight? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the failure to comply with the previous order was due to a mistake by their counsel, who overlooked the timelines. They sought leniency and an extension to rectify the situation. Revenue's contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments from the revenue or state in opposition to the modification application.