HC held that Appellate Authority under West Bengal GST Act 2017...

HC held that Appellate Authority under West Bengal GST Act 2017 has power to condone delay beyond one month of prescribed appeal period. While appeal was dismissed for being time-barred, petitioner could invoke Section 5 of Limitation Act 1963 for delay condonation. Following precedent in S.K. Chakraborty matter, Court found Appellate Authority should have considered explanation provided in delay condonation application. Given sufficient cause shown by petitioner and to avoid futile remand proceedings, HC accepted the delay explanation and disposed of petition, allowing appeal to proceed on merits.