Exclusion of time under Section 14 upheld for GST appeal after bona fide earlier writ proceedings and granted liberty.

Where a party bona fide pursues earlier writ proceedings and is then granted liberty to file the statutory appeal, the time spent in those proceedings may be excluded under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 while computing limitation under Section 107 of the Uttar Pradesh GST Act, 2017. The Allahabad HC held that the limitation objection was unsustainable because the earlier proceedings had ended with liberty to avail the appellate remedy and the benefit of Section 14 had already been recognised for such appeals. The order rejecting the appeal as time-barred was quashed, and the appellate authority was directed to hear the appeal on merits expeditiously.

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Issues: Whether the time spent in the earlier writ proceedings could be excluded under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 for computing limitation for the appeal filed under Section 107 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and whether the order rejecting the appeal as time-barred was liable to be set aside.

Analysis: The petitioner had approached the Court earlier against the penalty and seizure order passed under Section 129(3) of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and the earlier proceedings were terminated with liberty to avail the statutory appellate remedy. The Court noted that a coordinate Bench had specifically granted such liberty and that the benefit of Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 had already been recognised in relation to appeals under Section 107 of the Act. In these circumstances, the period spent in pursuing the earlier proceedings was required to be excluded while computing limitation.

Conclusion: The limitation objection was not sustainable, and the order rejecting the appeal as barred by time was quashed. The appellate authority was directed to hear and decide the appeal on merits expeditiously.

Final Conclusion: The petitioner succeeded in having the limitation-based rejection annulled, and the statutory appeal was restored for decision on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a party bona fide pursues a remedy in earlier proceedings and is subsequently given liberty to avail the statutory appeal, the period spent in those proceedings may be excluded under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 while computing limitation for the appeal.

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