Dismissal of appeal for delay permitted re-filing on terms after condonation refused to balance equities and preserve forum access

Dismissal of appeal for delay is examined through the sufficiency of reasons for not filing timely; the appellate authority found the petitioners explanations inadequate, particularly noting prior knowledge of notices and that reliance on an upload to an "Additional Notices and Orders" tab did not establish sufficient cause, resulting in refusal to condone delay. To avoid denying access to an important forum and to balance equities, the court allowed the petitioners to prefer the appeal subject to being put on terms, enabling re-filing despite initial refusal.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Appellate Authority erred in refusing to condone the delay in filing the appeal under Section 107 of the WBGST Act, 2017 and whether the petitioners should be permitted to prefer the appeal despite the delay.

Analysis: The Court examined the reasons advanced by the petitioners for delay, namely non-obvious upload of the adjudication order on the GST Portal under the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab, inadvertent deletion of e-mails, and awareness only upon receipt of recovery intimation. The Appellate Authority had found these explanations insufficient. The Court noted the petitioners' prior knowledge of earlier notices, rendering the portal-upload explanation not fully satisfactory, but also recognised that refusing to permit the appeal would cause loss of an important forum. To balance competing equities between procedural strictness and access to remedy, the Court considered conditional relief by imposing terms allowing the appeal to be heard on merits if certain conditions are met.

Conclusion: The petitioners are permitted to prefer their appeal before the Appellate Authority provided they pay Rs. 20,000 to the State Legal Services Authority, West Bengal within two weeks and furnish proof to the Appellate Authority; upon compliance the impugned order dated November 18, 2025 shall be treated as set aside. Failure to make the payment will leave the impugned order effective.

Ratio Decidendi: Where refusal to condone delay would work substantial prejudice by denying an important forum, a court may exercise its discretion to permit the delayed appeal to proceed on merits upon reasonable terms imposed to balance the equities between the parties.

---