Dismissal of GST Challenge: Court Allows Fresh Appeals Under Section 107 Despite Delay in Original Writ Petitions

The HC dismissed writ petitions challenging GST orders due to significant delay in filing after the January 2021 impugned orders. The petitioner had contested the use of GST DRC-01 notice format instead of manual issuance. Following precedent from a March 2022 order in a similar case, the court granted liberty to file statutory appeals before the Deputy Commissioner (GST Appeals) under Section 107, stipulating that if appeals with mandatory pre-deposit are filed within thirty days of receiving the order copy, the Appellate Authority must consider them on merits.

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Issues:
Challenge to impugned order based on notice issued in GST DRC-01 instead of manual issuance, delay in filing writ petition post order dated 27.01.2021, and 29.01.2021, dismissal of writ petitions based on delay, liberty granted to file statutory appeal before Deputy Commissioner (Goods and Services Tax Appeals) under Section 107 of GST Act, 2017.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged the impugned order, arguing that the notice was issued in GST DRC-01 instead of manually. The petitioner sought allowance of the writ petition on this ground. The respondent, represented by the learned Additional Government Pleader, opposed the prayer, citing a previous court decision where a similar writ petition was dismissed with liberty to file a statutory appeal before the Deputy Commissioner (Goods and Services Tax Appeals). The respondent contended that the writ petition was filed long after the impugned order, indicating delay.

The court considered the arguments from both parties. It noted that the petitioner indeed filed the writ petition after a significant delay following the impugned order dated 27.01.2021 and 29.01.2021. In light of a prior order dated 08.03.2022 in a related case, the court inclined to dismiss the writ petitions. The court granted liberty to the petitioner to file a statutory appeal before the Deputy Commissioner (Goods and Services Tax Appeals) under Section 107 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The court specified that if the appeals, along with mandatory pre-deposit, are filed within thirty days from the receipt of the order copy, the Appellate Authority will entertain and dispose of the appeals on merits and in accordance with the law. No costs were awarded, and the connected Miscellaneous Petitions were closed.

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