M/S Abhishek Construction vs. Union Of INDIA And 2 Others
Held
The Court held that the appeal filed by the petitioner was within the prescribed limitation period. The reasoning was based on the Supreme Court's suo motu order dated 10.01.2022, which excluded the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 for the purposes of limitation. Therefore, the limitation period for filing the appeal commenced from 01.03.2022. The Court found that the appeal filed by the petitioner on 09.06.2022 was well within the time stipulated under Section 107 of the Act of 2017, considering the exclusion period. The ratio decidendi is that the benefit of the Supreme Court's suo motu order on limitation must be extended to all pending appeals and applications, irrespective of when they were filed, as long as they fall within the period of exclusion. The Court set aside the order passed by the first appellate authority dated 29.07.2022 and directed the appellate authority to decide the appeal afresh on merits within one month from the date of production of a certified copy of the order.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s Abhishek Construction, engaged in manufacturing and sales of machinery parts, had its GST registration cancelled on 24.10.2019 by the Assistant Commissioner, CGST, Sector-3, Gautam Budh Nagar, due to an unattended show cause notice. The petitioner filed an appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, on 09.06.2022. The first appellate authority dismissed this appeal as time-barred, stating that the 90-day limitation period, which ended on 23.01.2020, had expired. The petitioner argued that the appeal was filed within the extended limitation period as per the Supreme Court's suo motu order in Writ-C No. 03 of 2020, excluding the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022.
Key Issues
1. Whether the appeal filed by the petitioner under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, was within the prescribed limitation period, considering the Supreme Court's suo motu order excluding a specific period for limitation purposes? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that the Supreme Court's order dated 10.01.2022 in Writ-C No. 03 of 2020 directed the exclusion of the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 for all limitation purposes. Consequently, the limitation period for their appeal should commence from 01.03.2022. They contended that 90 days from this date expired on 29.05.2022, and with an additional grace period of one month, their appeal filed on 09.06.2022 was within time. They relied on the Apex Court's suo motu proceedings and decisions of coordinate benches of the High Court in M/S J.K. Infratech Vs. Additional Commissioner and another and M/S Singh Group Vs. State of U.P. and others. Respondent's Contention: The learned counsel for the respondents could not dispute the legal proposition and law laid down by the Apex Court in suo motu proceedings.
Sections Cited
Section 107
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Court No. - 10 Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 1222 of 2022 Petitioner :- M/S Abhishek Construction Respondent :- Union Of India And 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Pranjal Shukla Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,Parv Agarwal Hon'ble Rohit Ranjan Agarwal,J. Heard Sri Pranjal Shukla, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Parv Agarwal, learned counsel for the respondent nos. 2 and 3. This writ petition assails the order passed by the Assistant Commissioner, CGST, Sector-3, Gautam Budh Nagar cancelling the registration of the petitioner as well as the first appellate authority dismissing the appeal on the ground that the appeal filed by the petitioner was time barred. Facts, in nutshell, are that petitioner who is engaged in the business of manufacturing and sales of machinery part had filed its return till October 2019, however, the department had issued a show cause notice which remain unattended by the assessee/petitioner. The registration of the petitioner's firm was cancelled on 24.10.2019. An appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter called as the 'Act of 2017') was filed on 09.06.2022. The first appellate authority dismissed the appe
The judgment continues below.
Read the full judgment
A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.
The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.
Reproduced from the public record of the Allahabad High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.