Ishika Packaging Private Limited And Anr vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.

Facts

The petitioners, Ishika Packaging Private Limited & Anr., filed a writ petition challenging an order dated November 18, 2025, passed by the Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the WBGST Act, 2017/CGST Act, 2017. This order dismissed their appeal against an adjudication order dated April 24, 2024, passed under Section 73 of the said Act, solely on the grounds of delay. The petitioners contended that they missed the adjudication order because it was uploaded on the GST Portal under the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab instead of the "View Orders" tab. They also claimed an employee inadvertently deleted emails, and they became aware of the order only upon receiving intimation of recovery proceedings. The State GST Authority argued that the petitioners had due notice and the portal upgrade in 2024 allowed viewing orders even under the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab.

Held

The Court acknowledged that the reasons provided by the petitioners for the delay, specifically the uploading of the adjudication order under the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab on the GST Portal, were not entirely satisfactory, especially since the petitioners appeared to have knowledge of earlier notices. The Appellate Authority had not found these reasons sufficient and had refused to condone the delay. However, the Court recognized that disallowing the appeal on merits would cause the petitioners to lose an important forum. To balance equities, the Court directed that the petitioners be permitted to prefer their appeal before the Appellate Authority on merit, subject to certain conditions. The petitioners were required to pay a sum of Rs. 20,000/- to the State Legal Services Authority, West Bengal, within two weeks and furnish proof of payment to the Appellate Authority. Upon compliance, the Appellate Authority was directed to hear the appeal on merit, and the impugned order dated November 18, 2025, would be treated as set aside. The Court clarified that failure to make the payment would render this order inoperative for the petitioners.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Appellate Authority erred in dismissing the petitioners' appeal on the ground of delay, considering the reasons provided by the petitioners for the delay, as contemplated under Section 107 of the WBGST Act, 2017/CGST Act, 2017? The petitioners argued that they were prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal within the stipulated period. They cited the misplacement of the adjudication order on the GST portal and inadvertent deletion of emails as reasons for the delay. They became aware of the order only through recovery proceedings. The State GST Authority contended that the petitioners had due notice of earlier communications and the uploading of the adjudication order under the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab was not a valid ground for condoning the delay. They further submitted that portal upgrades in 2024 allowed viewing orders from that tab.