GST Act Case: Input Tax Credit Appeal Allowed Despite 69-Day Delay Due to Substantial Cause and Procedural Fairness

HC examined a GST Act case involving Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims and appeal delay. The court condoned the 69-day delay in filing the appeal, finding the petitioner's reasons reasonable. The HC directed the Appellate Authority to entertain the appeal and dispose of it according to law, quashing the original orders that were passed without providing personal hearing opportunities.

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Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are related to the issuance of notices by the 1st respondent under the GST Act, consideration of Input Tax Credit claims, lack of personal hearing opportunity, passing of impugned orders u/s 73, delay in filing an appeal, and condonation of the appeal filing delay.

Consideration of Input Tax Credit claims:
The petitioner, a registered taxpayer under the GST Act, challenged the orders passed by the 1st respondent confirming an alleged excess claim of Input Tax Credit. The petitioner's claim of ITC was supported by tax invoices and bank statements showing payment inclusive of tax to registered dealers. However, the 1st respondent did not provide an opportunity for a personal hearing to the petitioner before passing the impugned order u/s 73. The petitioner filed respective replies to the notices issued but the orders were passed without considering the supporting documents, leading to the writ petition to quash the same.

Delay in filing an appeal and its condonation:
The petitioner sought relief to file a statutory appeal, which was initially delayed by 69 days, including the condonation period. The contention by the Government Advocate was that the appeal was filed with a delay of 69 days, including the condonation period, and the petitioner's mention of 39 days excluded the limitation period of 30 days. The petitioner filed the reply to the show cause notice on the same day it was issued, leading to confusion regarding the timeline for order issuance. The delay in filing the appeal was due to the petitioner's misunderstanding of the timeline, which was considered reasonable by the Court. Consequently, the Court decided to condone the delay in filing the appeal, ensuring the petitioner's right to prefer appeal is not deprived of due to circumstances beyond their control.

Court's decision:
After hearing the arguments from both parties and examining the materials on record, the Court found the reasons for the delay in filing the appeal to be reasonable. The Court, therefore, decided to condone the delay and directed the Appellate Authority to entertain the appeal filed by the petitioner and dispose of the same in accordance with the law. The writ petition was disposed of with this direction, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.

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