M/S Aniteshwar Trading Company vs. The State Of Bihar

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Aniteshwar Trading Company, a sole proprietorship, filed a writ petition before the Patna High Court challenging an order dated 03.12.2021 passed by the Assessing Officer under the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner sought to bypass the statutory appellate remedy available under Section 107 of the Act. Section 107 provides a period of three months for filing an appeal and an additional one month for condonation of delay. The petitioner's attempt to invoke the extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India was the subject of the present proceedings.

Held

The Court held that the petitioner's attempt to bypass the appellate remedy and invoke the extraordinary remedy under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is not permissible. The Court reiterated the established legal principle that when a specific time is provided for condonation of delay, the Appellate Authority or the Tribunal cannot condone the delay if the appeal is filed beyond such time. Consequently, the writ petition was dismissed. However, the Court left the question open to be agitated in other assessment years, indicating that the dismissal was specific to the circumstances of this case and did not preclude future challenges on different grounds or for different periods.

Key Issues

1. Whether the High Court, in its extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, can entertain a writ petition when a statutory appellate remedy is available and the petitioner has failed to avail it within the prescribed time limits? The petitioner's contention was that they were seeking to bypass the appellate remedy. The revenue's contention, implied by the court's reasoning, was that the petitioner should have availed the statutory remedy under Section 107 of the Act, which provides specific timeframes for filing an appeal and for condonation of delay. The court noted that the appellate authority or tribunal cannot condone delay if an appeal is filed beyond the stipulated time.