Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Naat Traders, approached the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar in WP(C) 3002/2023 against an order impugned in the writ petition, for which an appeal lies before the Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the Jammu and Kashmir GST Act. Such an appeal ordinarily had to be filed within three months of the impugned order, but the petitioner's case was that the order was brought to its notice only in September 2023, by which time the three-month period would already have elapsed. The Court had earlier issued notice on 20.11.2023 and the matter was taken up for consideration of interim relief on 01.12.2023.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the appellate authority could be directed to entertain a GST appeal filed beyond the ordinary three-month limitation period under Section 107 where the petitioner became aware of the impugned order only after the period had run.
  2. What relief was appropriate given the availability of the statutory appellate remedy.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The impugned order was brought to the petitioner's notice only in September 2023, by which time the three-month limitation period for filing an appeal under Section 107 of the Jammu and Kashmir GST Act would already have elapsed.
  • As a result, the appellate authority would not ordinarily entertain any appeal filed by the petitioner, and the petitioner therefore sought interim relief and a direction enabling it to file an appeal notwithstanding the delay.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The learned Advocate General for the Union Territory submitted that, without treating it as a precedent, the appellate authority could be directed to entertain any appeal preferred by the petitioner within two months from the date of the order.
  • The appellate authority would entertain the appeal subject to fulfilment of all other necessary requirements, with only the limitation objection being waived for this case.

Court Order/Findings

  • Since a statutory appellate remedy exists under Section 107 of the Jammu and Kashmir GST Act, the Court held that the petitioner should avail that remedy rather than continue to press the writ petition.
  • The appellate authority was directed to entertain the appeal to be filed by the petitioner within two months from the date of the order, with the limitation period waived for this case without treating it as a precedent.
  • The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the petitioner to approach the appellate authority, and with liberty reserved to pursue further legal remedies if aggrieved by the appellate authority's eventual order.

Important Clarification

  • Where the Revenue itself, through its Advocate General, does not object to condonation, a High Court can direct the GST appellate authority to entertain an otherwise time-barred appeal under Section 107 by waiving the limitation period for that specific case, without disturbing the general statutory limitation scheme or setting a binding precedent for other matters.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, Jammu and Kashmir GST Act - provides the statutory remedy of appeal to the Appellate Authority, including the ordinary three-month limitation period for filing such an appeal.

Decision - In Favour of

The decision is disposed of with directions, in substance in favour of the Assessee/Petitioner. While the Court did not examine the merits of the original order, it secured a concession from the Revenue effectively condoning the limitation period so that the petitioner's appeal under Section 107 could be entertained.

Related Case Laws

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

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (Srinagar)
  • Case No.: WP(C) 3002/2023
  • CNR: Not available on record
  • Coram: Chief Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice M.A. Chowdhary
  • Decision Date: 1 December 2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of

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