Tax demand appeal filed 57 days late due to accountant's illness; delay condoned under Limitation Act s.5, case remanded.

The dominant issue was whether the appellate authority lawfully refused to entertain the statutory appeal against an order under s.73 of the 2017 Act on the ground of delay. The HC held that the stated cause-illness of the petitioner's accountant, supported by affidavit-was not disbelieved, and the authority erred in treating the accountant's lack of status as authorised signatory as fatal, since an accountant's role in preparing an appeal is material. As the 57-day delay was not attributable to gross negligence or a lackadaisical attitude, it constituted "sufficient cause" under s.5 of the Limitation Act, applying prior HC precedent; accordingly, the delay was condoned, the rejection order was set aside, and the appeal was remanded for fresh decision on merits.

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1. ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED

(i) Whether the Court should entertain a writ petition challenging dismissal of a statutory appeal as time-barred, in circumstances where the appellate tribunal contemplated under the statute is not functional and the petitioner would otherwise be left without an effective remedy.

(ii) Whether a delay of 57 days in filing an appeal under Section 107 of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, explained on the ground of illness of the petitioner's accountant supported by an affidavit, ought to be condoned; and whether rejection of condonation solely because the accountant was not an authorised signatory is sustainable.

(iii) Whether, upon finding wrongful refusal to condone delay, the proper relief is to set aside the appellate order and remand the matter for decision on merits, with a limitation-related restriction arising from belated filing of the writ petition.

2. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS

Issue (i): Entertainability of the writ petition in absence of a functional appellate tribunal

Legal framework: The Court considered the statutory appellate structure, noting the contemplated appellate tribunal under Section 112 of the Act of 2017 and the petitioner's challenge to the appellate authority's order under Section 107.

Interpretation and reasoning: The Court accepted that the appellate tribunal was not yet functional. It held that, in such circumstances, refusal to entertain the writ petition would leave the petitioner remediless against the appellate order dismissing the appeal on limitation.

Conclusion: The Court entertained the writ petition on the ground that an effective alternative forum was unavailable due to the non-functionality of the tribunal.

Issue (ii): Condonation of 57 days' delay in filing the statutory appeal and validity of refusal based on "authorised signatory" reasoning

Legal framework: The Court applied the principle of condonation of delay under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, in the context of delay in filing an appeal under Section 107 of the Act of 2017.

Interpretation and reasoning: The Court noted from the impugned appellate order that the petitioner's stated cause for delay was the illness of its accountant, and that the accountant had filed an affidavit affirming the illness. The appellate authority did not disbelieve the illness, but rejected condonation because the accountant was not the authorised signatory. The Court held that, although an accountant may not be an authorised signatory, the accountant's role in preparing an appeal by providing relevant facts and figures cannot be ignored. On these facts, the Court found no gross negligence or lackadaisical attitude attributable to the petitioner, and therefore the delay should have been condoned.

Conclusion: The Court condoned the 57 days' delay, holding that the appellate authority's refusal to condone delay on the sole ground that the accountant was not an authorised signatory was unsustainable where the illness was not doubted and the explanation did not reflect gross negligence.

Issue (iii): Appropriate relief-setting aside the appellate order, remand on merits, and limitation-related clarification

Interpretation and reasoning: Having condoned the delay, the Court held that the dismissal of the appeal solely on limitation could not stand. Since the merits of the appeal had not been examined, the proper course was to restore the appeal for fresh consideration on merits by the appellate authority.

Conclusions: The Court set aside the appellate order dismissing the appeal as time-barred and remanded the matter to the appellate authority to decide the appeal afresh on merits. The Court further clarified that, because the writ petition itself had been filed belatedly, the petitioner would not be entitled to challenge the appellate proceedings on the ground of limitation.

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