Lata Keshari vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.

Held

The Court held that the Appellate Authority erred in rejecting the petitioner's appeal solely on the ground of it being time-barred without considering the explanation for the delay. The Court referred to the Division Bench judgment in S. K. Chakraborty & Ors. –Vs. Union of India, which established that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, is applicable to appellate proceedings under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017. Consequently, the Appellate Authority was obligated to consider the petitioner's explanation for the delay on its merits. The impugned order dated July 28, 2025, was set aside. The matter was remanded to the Appellate Authority, with a direction to consider the petitioner's prayer for condonation of delay in light of the observations in S. K. Chakraborty and Dola Bharati. If satisfied with the causes shown, the Appellate Authority is to condone the delay and proceed to hear the appeal on merits. The Court explicitly stated that it had not expressed any opinion on the sufficiency of the causes shown for condonation of delay.

Facts

The petitioner, Lata Keshari, challenged an order dated July 28, 2025, passed by the Appellate Authority under the CGST/SGST Act, 2017. This order rejected her appeal against an adjudication order dated September 9, 2024, solely on the grounds that it was time-barred. The petitioner had filed her appeal before the Appellate Authority on March 24, 2025, with a delay of 105 days. The Appellate Authority, citing Sections 107(1) and 107(4) of the CGST Act, 2017, concluded that the appeal was time-barred due to a delay of approximately six months and refused to proceed further.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Appellate Authority erred in rejecting the petitioner's appeal solely on the ground of being time-barred without considering the explanation for the delay, in light of Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017 and Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963? The petitioner argued that the Appellate Authority failed to consider the explanation for the delay provided in paragraph 15 of her appeal. She relied on a Coordinate Bench judgment of this Court in Dola Bharati –Vs.- State of West Bengal & Ors. (WPA/21713/2024), which, in turn, relied on a Division Bench judgment in S. K. Chakraborty & Ors. –Vs. Union of India, holding that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, is applicable to appellate proceedings under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017. Therefore, the Appellate Authority ought to have considered the explanation for the delay on merits. The respondents (Union of India & Ors.) did not record any specific arguments against the petitioner's contention regarding the applicability of Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, or the necessity of considering the delay explanation.