Tax authorities cannot reject offline appeals due to online portal errors under relevant tax laws

The HC held that the taxing authorities cannot refuse to entertain an offline appeal due to the appeal not being reflected on the online portal caused by departmental error or technical glitches. The court clarified that the appellant has a statutory right to file an appeal against adjudication orders under the Act, and no notification barred offline filing. The department's rejection of the offline appeal on technical grounds was set aside. The Additional Commissioner was directed to consider the offline appeal strictly in accordance with law within one month of receiving a certified copy of the order. The petition was allowed in part.

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Issues:
Challenge to correspondence requiring online filing of appeal

Analysis:
The petitioner, a charitable trust constructing a hospital, sought relief to quash a correspondence demanding online appeal acknowledgment. The petitioner's appeal against a denied exemption was not accepted online due to a portal error. The department initiated recovery proceedings despite a rectification order. The petitioner's offline appeal against a summary order was also rejected, leading to this petition.

The petitioner argued that the department's insistence on online filing contradicted Section 107 of the CGST Act, as no alternate filing method had been notified. Citing a similar Andhra Pradesh High Court case, the petitioner contended that until specified, manual filing should be allowed. The respondent claimed the summary order, not the original, should be appealed, and technical glitches were addressed in a circular.

The court deliberated on whether technical issues or departmental errors could justify denying offline appeals. It emphasized the right to appeal any decision under the Act and rejected the respondent's limitation on appeals against summary orders. Rule 108 allowed electronic or notified appeal filing, with no alternate method notified in Uttar Pradesh. The court noted the absence of a notification for alternative filing methods, supporting offline appeals as per the Andhra Pradesh High Court's interpretation.

The court ruled in favor of the petitioner, setting aside the correspondence and directing the authority to consider the offline appeal within a month. It concluded that technicalities should not impede statutory rights, allowing the petitioner's offline appeal to proceed in accordance with the law. The writ petition was partly allowed, ensuring the petitioner's appeal consideration offline.

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