Advocate's Family Medical Emergency Justifies 17-Day Appeal Delay, Tax Authority's Rejection Overturned

HC allowed the appeal challenging tax authority's mechanical rejection of delayed appeal. The delay of 17 days was justified due to advocate's family medical emergency. Court found no lack of bona fide and directed appellate authority to hear the appeal on merits after condoning the delay, setting aside the original rejection order.

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Issues Involved:
Challenging the rejection of an appeal under Section 107 of the Central/West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 based on delay in filing the appeal and the authority's competence to condone the delay.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged the order of rejection of their appeal under Section 107 of the said Act, emphasizing that the appellate authority had mechanically rejected the appeal without considering the grounds for maintaining it. The petitioner had filed the appeal against an order dated 16th October, 2023, under Section 73 (9) for the tax period July 2017 to March 2018, along with the required pre-deposit. The delay in filing the appeal was explained to be due to medical reasons, specifically the illness and subsequent demise of the petitioner's advocate's father, causing a delay of 17 days. The appellate authority failed to consider this explanation adequately, leading to the rejection of the appeal based on a strict interpretation of the time limit for condoning delays.

The High Court found that there was no lack of bona fide on the petitioner's part in filing the appeal, given the circumstances leading to the delay. The Court noted that the appellate authority's decision to reject the appeal solely based on the time limit for condonation of delay was inconsistent with a previous judgment recognizing the right to condone delays in appropriate cases. The Court held that the appellate authority had committed a jurisdictional error by not properly considering the petitioner's application for condonation of delay. Consequently, the Court set aside the order of rejection, condoned the delay, and directed the appellate authority to hear and dispose of the appeal on its merits after providing the petitioner with an opportunity for a hearing.

In conclusion, the writ petition challenging the rejection of the appeal was disposed of with no order as to costs, and the Court directed the parties to receive a certified copy of the order upon compliance with formalities.

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