Condonation of GST appeal delay: short delay within the statutory condonable period must be assessed on sufficient cause and merits.

A GST appeal filed within the one-month condonable period under Section 107(4) of the Karnataka GST Act, though three days late, should be considered on merits where sufficient cause for the short delay is shown. The appellate authority rejected the appeal solely on limitation without properly exercising its discretion or examining the explanation for delay. The Karnataka HC held that the discretion under Section 107(4) was not applied judiciously and that the delay was condonable, with the appeal to be heard on merits.

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Issues: Whether the appellate authority erred in refusing to condone a 3-day delay in filing the GST appeal under Section 107(4) of the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and in declining to consider the appeal on merits.

Analysis: The appeal against the assessment order was filed beyond the three-month period under Section 107(1), but within the additional one-month condonable period under Section 107(4). The authority rejected the appeal only on the ground of limitation without examining whether sufficient cause was shown for the short delay. The Court found that the discretion under Section 107(4) had not been exercised judiciously and that sufficient cause existed for condonation.

Conclusion: The refusal to condone delay was set aside and the 3-day delay in filing the appeal was condoned.

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