Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Sabita Singh, wife of Barun Kumar Singh, resident of Ward-27, Donar Allapatti Ahila, P.S.-Darbhanga, District Darbhanga, filed this writ petition before the High Court of Judicature at Patna challenging the rejection of her appeal filed under Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (BGST Act). Section 107 allows three months to file an appeal against an order of the proper officer, extendable by a further one month on satisfactory explanation for the delay. The petitioner's appeal, rejected vide Annexure-P/4, had been filed beyond even this extended one-month condonable window. While the Bench reiterated the settled position that neither the Appellate Authority nor the High Court under Article 226 can condone delay beyond the period fixed by statute, it noted that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, by Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023, had extended the time for filing appeals against orders passed on or before 31.03.2023 under Sections 73 and 74 of the BGST Act, up to 31.01.2024, subject to specified conditions.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the Appellate Authority or the High Court under Article 226 could condone delay in filing a GST appeal beyond the period prescribed under Section 107 of the BGST Act.
  2. Whether the benefit of CBIC Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax, extending time for appeals under Sections 73/74 of the BGST Act, could be extended to restore an appeal already rejected as time-barred.
  3. What conditions must be satisfied by the assessee to avail restoration of the appeal under the Notification.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The appellate rejection was solely on the ground of delay, and the appeal itself was otherwise maintainable on merits.
  • The subsequent issuance of Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax, offering a special one-time procedure for appeals under Sections 73/74 of the BGST Act, entitled the petitioner to a fresh opportunity to have the appeal considered.
  • The petitioner was willing to comply with the pre-deposit conditions prescribed under the Notification in order to have the appeal restored and heard on merits.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The State respondents did not dispute that the appeal was filed beyond even the extended one-month period under Section 107(4) of the BGST Act and was, on ordinary principles, incapable of condonation.
  • The Union respondents, represented by the Additional Solicitor General, drew the Court's attention to the special procedure under Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax and its conditions, including part-payment of admitted tax and a further sum equal to 12.5% of the disputed tax (subject to a Rs.25 crore cap), of which 20% had to be debited from the Electronic Cash Ledger.
  • The State respondents indicated no objection to restoration of the appeal provided the petitioner strictly complied with the payment conditions under the Notification within the stipulated timeline.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court held that ordinarily neither the Appellate Authority nor the High Court under Article 226 has power to condone delay beyond the statutory period fixed under Section 107 of the BGST Act.
  • However, Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax effectively extends the window for filing appeals against orders under Sections 73/74 up to 31.01.2024, and even appeals already pending or previously rejected for delay can be restored if the conditions in paragraph 3 of the Notification are satisfied — full payment of the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty, plus 12.5% of the disputed tax (capped at Rs.25 crore), with at least 20% of that 12.5% debited from the Electronic Cash Ledger.
  • The Court set aside the impugned rejection (Annexure-P/4) and directed the petitioner to satisfy the Notification's conditions by 31.01.2024, upon which the appeal would be taken up on merits; failing compliance, the appeal would stand rejected.
  • The Court granted liberty even to petitioners whose earlier writ petitions against similar delay-based rejections had been dismissed by the High Court to independently invoke the Notification, and directed the Commissioner, State Taxes, Bihar, to issue instructions to field officers accordingly.

Important Clarification

  • Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023 provides a special, time-bound window (up to 31.01.2024) for reviving GST appeals under Sections 73/74 that were rejected or never filed due to delay beyond the normal Section 107 limitation.
  • Availing this window is conditional on payment of the full admitted tax/interest/fine/fee/penalty plus 12.5% of the disputed tax (subject to a Rs.25 crore ceiling), with at least 20% of that amount from the Electronic Cash Ledger; no refund is granted on excess pre-Notification payments until the appeal is disposed.
  • The benefit is available even to assessees whose writ petitions challenging delay-based rejection were earlier dismissed by a court, since the Notification operates independent of such dismissals.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, Bihar GST Act, 2017 — prescribes the limitation period (three months, extendable by one month) for filing appeals against orders of the proper officer.
  • Article 226, Constitution of India — writ jurisdiction invoked to challenge the appellate rejection.
  • Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023 — special procedure permitting delayed appeals under Sections 73/74 to be filed or restored up to 31.01.2024, subject to part-payment conditions.

Decision – In Favour of

The decision is in favour of the Assessee, though conditionally: the writ petition was allowed and the appellate rejection set aside, but restoration of the appeal itself remains contingent on the petitioner satisfying the payment conditions under Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax within the stipulated deadline.

Related Case Laws

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

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Patna
  • Case No.: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.15896 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available on record
  • Coram: Hon'ble the Chief Justice (K. Vinod Chandran) and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Roy
  • Decision Date: 09-11-2023
  • Disposal Nature: Writ allowed - GST appeal restored subject to compliance with Notification No.53/2023-Central Tax

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.