Facts of the Case

Urmila RCP Projects Private Limited challenged an appellate order dated 25.10.2022 which rejected its GST appeal on the ground of a 23-day delay in filing. The original assessment order, dated 13.02.2021, had been passed under Section 73(1) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, after issuance of a prior notice. The petitioner contended it had been regularly filing returns and paying tax despite which the assessment order was passed; it obtained the order from the GST portal and filed the appeal on 23.07.2022, but this was found to be grossly delayed by the appellate authority. The appellate authority had elaborately considered the issue of whether the petitioner was given a reasonable hearing opportunity, noting that Section 169 only requires service of notice via the common portal, which was in fact uploaded.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the appellate authority correctly computed the limitation period for filing the appeal under Section 107(4) of the Bihar GST Act, including the Supreme Court's COVID-era limitation extensions.
  2. Whether the High Court, under Article 226, could extend the statutory limitation period for filing a GST appeal beyond what Section 107(4) permits.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner sought condonation of the delay in filing the appeal, citing the circumstances under which it discovered the assessment order.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The appellate order had elaborately considered the facts, including that the notice and assessment order were available on the common portal, satisfying service under Section 169, and that the delay was attributable to the petitioner's own default in not checking the portal in time.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court noted that Section 107(4) of the Bihar GST Act grants three months for filing an appeal, extendable by a further month on satisfactory explanation for delay.
  • It held that the Supreme Court's COVID-era limitation extension (Miscellaneous Application No. 21 of 2022 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020) had already extended limitation up to 28.02.2022, with a further three months thereafter — and even accounting for that extension, the appeal (filed 07.10.2022, later corrected to 23.07.2022 by petitioner's own account) was filed beyond the permissible period.
  • The Court held that when a statute provides for delay condonation up to a specified limit, neither the appellate authority nor the High Court under Article 226 can extend that period further.
  • Finding no reason to interfere with the appellate order, the writ petition was dismissed.

Important Clarification

This order confirms that the extended appeal-filing window under Section 107(4) of the GST Act (three months plus a further month for condonable delay) is a hard outer limit that courts will not extend even where the taxpayer claims genuine hardship in discovering the order — and that the Supreme Court's pandemic-era limitation relief, while real, does not open the door to indefinite further extensions. Taxpayers should regularly check the GST common portal for uploaded notices and orders, since portal upload is treated as valid service under Section 169 regardless of whether the taxpayer actually notices it promptly.

Sections Involved

  • Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, Sections 73(1), 107(4) and 169

Decision – In Favour of

Decided against the petitioner — the writ petition was dismissed and the appellate authority's rejection of the appeal for delay was upheld.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Patna
  • Case Number: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 4494 of 2023
  • Coram: Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad
  • Date of Order: 17.04.2023

Link to Download the Order

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