Bona fide difficulty in electronic filing can prevent mechanical rejection of an appeal as time-barred and preserve merits review.

Bona fide difficulty in uploading an appeal through the electronic portal can render a mechanical dismissal as time-barred unsustainable where the appellant thereafter files manually and seeks consideration on merits. The Madras HC held that rejection of the appeal solely on limitation was not warranted on these facts, quashed the appellate order, and directed the authority to hear the appeal and decide it in accordance with law. The ruling emphasises that procedural limitation should not defeat substantive disposal where the delay is attributable to genuine online filing difficulty and the appeal otherwise requires merits-based adjudication.

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Issues: Whether the appellate order dismissing the petitioner's appeal as time-barred under Section 107(1) of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was liable to be quashed and the appeal restored for disposal on merits.

Analysis: The petitioner was unable to upload the appeal memorandum through the electronic portal and thereafter filed the appeal manually. The delay in filing was attributable to the difficulty experienced in the attempted online filing. In these circumstances, the dismissal of the appeal solely on limitation was not sustainable.

Conclusion: The order dismissing the appeal as time-barred was quashed and the appellate authority was directed to take up the appeal and decide it on merits in accordance with law.

Final Conclusion: The petitioner obtained relief against the limitation-based rejection, and the appeal was restored for fresh adjudication on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where delay in filing an appeal is occasioned by bona fide difficulty in electronic filing, a mechanical dismissal of the appeal as time-barred is not warranted if the appeal is otherwise required to be considered on merits.

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