Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, challenged an appellate order that rejected their appeal against a GST tax demand of Rs. 8,12,967/- on grounds of delay. The tax demand was issued under Section 74(1) of the CGST Act for the period July 2017 to March 2020, relating to Input Tax Credit (ITC) on post-supply discounts. The petitioner filed an appeal with a 13-day delay beyond the 90-day statutory period, citing technical issues with the GST portal and business closure. The High Court found the delay sufficiently explained and set aside the appellate order, remanding the matter for merits consideration. The Court ruled that procedural delays due to technical glitches should not bar substantive adjudication.
Headnote
The High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, in a Division Bench comprising, heard a Special Civil Application challenging an appellate order that rejected a GST appeal on grounds of delay -- The petitioner, contested a tax demand order dated 09.01.2024 under Section 74(1) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) read with Gujarat Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (GGST Act) -- The appeal was filed with a delay of 13 days beyond the 90-day period prescribed under Section 107(1) of the CGST Act -- The Court held that the delay was due to technical issues with the GST portal and the petitioner's business closure, which constituted sufficient cause -- The appellate order dated 12.03.2025 was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the appellate authority for consideration on merits -- The Court emphasized that procedural technicalities should not override substantive justice when delays are minimal and reasonably explained
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Issue of Consideration: The Issue of Consideration was whether the appellate authority was justified in rejecting the appeal solely on the ground of delay when the petitioner faced technical issues with the GST portal and had a reasonable explanation for the delay
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Final Decision
The High Court set aside the appellate order dated 12.03.2025 and remanded the matter to the appellate authority for consideration on merits. The Court held that the delay of 13 days was sufficiently explained and should not bar substantive adjudication.
