Delay condoned and appeal allowed as appellant complied with Section 107 by pre-depositing GST amount despite e-filing unavailability

HC condoned the delay and allowed the appeal, finding the appellant had complied with Section 107 by pre-depositing the requisite amount. The court accepted that e-filing was not feasible before the impugned order was uploaded on the GST portal (uploaded 17.01.2023), so depositing Rs.82,000 in the GST Electronic Cash Ledger and filing by speed post on 22.12.2022 was reasonable. The petitioner was not at fault for transferring funds to the electronic ledger when GST APL-01 payment was unavailable; procedural delay was condoned and the petition allowed.

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The High Court of Madhya Pradesh considered a case where the petitioner, a proprietor of M/s Swastik Traders, was engaged in the business of General Stores and registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner filed statutory returns for the period of April 2018 to March 2019. Following a GST audit, a show cause notice was issued proposing a tax demand for the difference in Input Tax Credit claimed by the petitioner and assessed by the department. The Assessment Officer held that the petitioner wrongly availed Input Tax Credit and imposed a tax demand and penalty. The petitioner challenged this decision through an appeal.The core issue before the Court was whether the petitioner had complied with the procedural requirements for filing an appeal under the CGST Act, 2017. The Court analyzed the timeline of events, including the deposit of a pre-deposit amount, the filing of appeals offline and online, and the timing of the appeal submissions in relation to the communication of the original order.The petitioner argued that they had deposited the required pre-deposit amount in their GST Electronic Cash Ledger and had submitted the appeal within the prescribed time frame. The respondent, representing the revenue department, contended that the appeal was not submitted within the specified period.The Court examined the provisions of Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, regarding the time limit for filing appeals and the requirement of making a pre-deposit. The Court noted that the order in original was uploaded after the petitioner had already deposited the pre-deposit amount and submitted the appeal through speed post. The Court found that the petitioner had complied with the statutory requirements and had not erred in the deposit and submission of the appeal.Ultimately, the Court allowed the petition, quashed the Order in Appeal passed by the Joint Commissioner, and remitted the matter back to the authority for a fresh decision on merits. The Court emphasized that the appeal should not be dismissed solely due to procedural delays when the petitioner had made efforts to comply with the statutory requirements. The Court condoned the delay in preferring the appeal and directed the authority to decide the matter afresh after giving the petitioner an adequate opportunity.In conclusion, the Court held that the petitioner had fulfilled the requirements of Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, and allowed the petition, setting aside the Order in Appeal and directing a fresh consideration of the matter on its merits.

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