Facts of the Case

This writ petition was filed by M/s. Vijaya Trading Company before the Orissa High Court against the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and Goods and Services Tax, Odisha, Commissionerate of CT & GST, and others. The matter was taken up through hybrid mode and disposed of by a short order dated 30.11.2023. The order itself does not record independent facts; instead, the Bench disposed of the petition in terms of the common order passed on 6th November, 2023 in W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023 and Batch (M/s. Pravat Kumar Choudhury and others vs. Additional State Tax Officer, CT & GST, Cuttack and others). That batch order concerned registered dealers whose first appeals against orders under Sections 73/74 of the OGST/CGST Act, 2017 had been rejected by the appellate authority as barred by limitation under Section 107, and it extended to them the special one-time procedure introduced by CBIC Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023 for filing or reviving such time-barred appeals. Since the present petitioner's grievance was identical to those in the lead batch, the Court applied the same terms without recording separate facts or reasoning for this petition.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a writ petition raising the same grievance as the batch of petitions decided in W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023 (rejection of a GST appeal solely on limitation) could be disposed of on identical terms.
  2. Whether the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the CBIC's amnesty procedure under Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax for reviving a time-barred Section 107 appeal.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner's grievance was the same as that raised by the lead petitioners in the Pravat Kumar Choudhury batch — rejection of the first appeal as time-barred under Section 107.
  • The petitioner sought the same relief granted in the batch order, namely the benefit of the amnesty procedure under Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Standing Counsel for the Commissionerate of CT & GST, Odisha did not press any distinguishing submission and did not oppose disposal of the petition on the same terms as the batch order.

Court Order/Findings

  • The matter was taken up through hybrid mode.
  • The writ petition was disposed of in terms of the common order dated 06.11.2023 passed in W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023 and Batch (M/s. Pravat Kumar Choudhury and others vs. Additional State Tax Officer, CT & GST, Cuttack and others), by which time-barred Section 107 appeal rejections were set aside and remanded to the Appellate Authority in view of CBIC Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax.
  • No independent reasoning was recorded for this individual petition; the Bench simply extended the batch order's terms to the present matter.

Important Clarification

  • This is a short, follow-on order applying the ratio of the lead judgment in W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023 and Batch without independent discussion; readers should refer to that lead order for the full reasoning on the Section 107 limitation-amnesty question.
  • Registered dealers whose Section 107 appeals were rejected purely on limitation grounds, and who fall within the class covered by Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax, can expect similar remand relief on identical facts.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, CGST Act 2017 / OGST Act 2017 — limitation for filing the first appeal against orders under Sections 73/74.
  • Section 148, CGST Act 2017 — power to notify special procedures, the enabling basis for Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax.
  • Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax, dated 02.11.2023 — special amnesty procedure for appeals rejected solely on limitation.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of on the same terms as the batch order, in favour of the Assessee to the extent the amnesty procedure under Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax was made available; the Court did not independently adjudicate the merits of the petitioner's underlying tax dispute.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Orissa at Cuttack
  • Case No.: W.P.(C) No.38325 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Acting Chief Justice Dr. B.R. Sarangi and Justice Murahari Sri Raman
  • Decision Date: 30-11-2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of in terms of common order in WP 6684/2023 batch

Link to Download the Order

Download the full judgment (PDF)

Disclaimer

This content is shared strictly for general information and knowledge purposes only. Readers should independently verify the information from reliable sources. It is not intended to provide legal, professional, or advisory guidance. The author and the organisation disclaim all liability arising from the use of this content. The material has been prepared with the assistance of AI tools.