Statutory time limit for GST detention-cum-penalty orders runs from service of notice; portal upload completes communication.

The seven-day limit under section 129(3) of the Odisha GST Act was held to run from service of the penalty notice, and the detention-cum-penalty order had to be made within that period. Alleged e-mail dispatch was not accepted as proof of completed communication, because the printout did not reliably show a valid attachment and the record consistently reflected 27 September 2024 as the operative date. Communication was treated as complete only when the order was uploaded on the common portal under section 169(1)(d). As the order was therefore made on the eighth day, it was held to be time-barred and quashed.

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Issues: Whether the detention-cum-penalty order under section 129(3) of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was passed within the prescribed seven-day period, and whether e-mail transmission or portal upload constituted completed communication within time.

Analysis: The prescribed period under section 129(3) was held to run from service of the notice specifying penalty, and the order had to be made on or before the seventh day. The claimed e-mail dispatch on the earlier date was not accepted as sufficient proof of completion of communication, as the printout did not reliably show a valid attachment and was inconsistent with the record showing the order date as 27 September 2024. The Court also noticed the appeal form, the subsequent departmental letter, and the electronic summary uploaded in Form GST DRC-07, all reflecting 27 September 2024 as the operative date. Communication was treated as complete only when the order was uploaded on the common portal under section 169(1)(d), not merely when an e-mail was allegedly sent. Since the order thus stood made on the eighth day, it failed the statutory time limit.

Conclusion: The order was held to be beyond the period prescribed by section 129(3) and was quashed.

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