Appellate authority can condone delay beyond one month under Section 107 West Bengal GST Act

The HC dismissed a petition challenging the rejection of an appeal under Section 107 of the West Bengal GST Act, 2017. The appellate authority had refused to condone delay beyond one month from the prescribed limitation period. The HC held that following Division Bench precedents, the appellate authority has power to condone delay beyond one month as Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies in absence of specific exclusion. The authority's observation limiting condonation to one month was set aside, but no relief was granted to the petitioner at this stage.

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Issues involved: Challenge to dismissal of appeal under Section 107 of West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 due to delay and jurisdiction of Appellate Authority to condone delay beyond prescribed period.

Summary:
The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the dismissal of an appeal under Section 107 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 due to delay. The Appellate Authority had dismissed the appeal as it was beyond the prescribed period and not accompanied by an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963. The petitioner contended that the Appellate Authority had erred in not condoning the delay beyond one month from the prescribed period for filing the appeal, as allowed under Section 107(4) of the said Act. The petitioner relied on a previous judgment by the High Court to support their argument that Section 5 of the Limitation Act should apply in this case.

On the other hand, the State respondents argued that the Appellate Authority did not have the power to condone the delay beyond the specified period of one month, as the Act is a self-contained code that excludes the applicability of Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963. They cited a judgment from the Allahabad High Court to support their position.

The Court considered the arguments presented by both parties and reviewed relevant legal provisions and precedents. It noted that a previous Division Bench judgment had concluded that the Appellate Authority could condone the delay beyond one month from the prescribed period, as there was no specific exclusion of Section 5 of the Limitation Act. Another Division Bench had also held that the Appellate Authority could exercise jurisdiction beyond the prescribed period of limitation.

Ultimately, the Court set aside the Appellate Authority's decision that it could only condone the delay if presented within one month from the prescribed period. However, since the petitioner had not filed an application for condonation of delay, the Court could not grant relief at that stage. The petitioner was given the opportunity to apply before the Appellate Authority for condonation of delay within two weeks, with the Appellate Authority instructed to consider the application in accordance with the law.

In conclusion, the writ petition was disposed of, allowing the petitioner to seek condonation of delay before the Appellate Authority within the specified timeframe.

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