M/S. Arjun Enterprise vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.
Held
The Court held that the writ petition is meritorious due to procedural irregularities and the arbitrary actions of the respondent authorities. The Court quashed the appellate order dated 30.08.2024, which had dismissed the petitioner's appeal as time-barred. The Court reasoned that statutory provisions on limitation should be interpreted liberally when genuine hardships are demonstrated, especially in light of judicial precedents. It referred to the case of S. K. Chakraborty & Sons Vs. Union of India, which established that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is applicable to GST appeals under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, allowing for extension of the appeal period. The petitioner's rights under the GST Act, 2017 were restored. The Appellate Authority was directed to consider and decide the petitioner's application for condonation of delay on merits. If the delay is condoned, the Appellate Authority is to hear and dispose of the appeal on merit. No issue was expressly left undecided.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s. Arjun Enterprise, a proprietorship engaged in manufacturing and trading scrap materials, challenged the dismissal of its GST appeal. The petitioner received a show cause notice on 30.11.2022 for FY 2017-18 and 2018-19, demanding ₹56,226 as short-paid tax and ₹62,19,882 as excess Input Tax Credit (ITC) availed. The order-in-original dated 13.04.2023, confirming the demand, was not uploaded on the GST portal, preventing the petitioner from filing an online appeal. Despite the petitioner filing a physical appeal on 05.10.2023, the department uploaded the order on 27.12.2023. Subsequently, Respondent No. 2 dismissed the appeal on 30.08.2024 as time-barred.
Key Issues
1. Whether the appeal filed by the petitioner was time-barred, considering the delay in uploading the order-in-original on the GST portal by the revenue authorities, thereby preventing the petitioner from filing an online appeal as per the GST regime? (Question of mixed law and fact, turning on Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017 and principles of natural justice). Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that the delay in uploading the order-in-original by the respondent authorities caused genuine hardship and procedural impossibility for filing a timely online appeal. They relied on the principle that statutory provisions on limitation should be interpreted liberally in cases of genuine hardship and cited the Calcutta High Court judgment in S. K. Chakraborty & Sons Vs. Union of India, which held that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is attracted to GST appeals under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, allowing for condonation of delay. Revenue's Contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the revenue or the Union of India.
Sections Cited
Section 107, Section 108, Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, Section 29(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
OD-9
WPO/943/2024 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION ORIGINAL SIDE
M/S. ARJUN ENTERPRISE VS UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS
BEFORE: THE HON’BLE JUSTICE RAJARSHI BHARADWAJ Date : 20th December, 2024
Appearance : Mr. Aditya Dutta, Adv. Mr. Akash Dutta, Adv. For petitioner Mr. Uday Shankar Bhattacharya, Adv. Mr. Tapan Bhanja, Adv. For CGST Mr. Samarajit Roychoudhury, Adv. For the U.O.I
The Court: The Petitioners in the present writ petition have approached this Hon’ble Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, challenging the arbitrary and unreasonable dismissal of the appeal and seeks appropriate reliefs from this Hon’ble Court.
The petitioner, a proprietorship entity, is engaged in the manufacturing and trading of materials such as scrap copper cables
- 2 – WPO 943 of 2024
and paper waste, procured through E-auction from Indian Railways. The petitioner is duly registered under GST Registration No. 19AKRPS9773P1Z and has consistently complied with statutory obligations by filing monthly GST returns and discharging GST liabilities within due dates since the inception of the GS
The judgment continues below.
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