https://www.taxtmi.com/css/info/rss_sitemap/rss_feed.css?v=1746094055 https://www.taxtmi.com Business/Tax/Law/GST/India/Taxation/Policies/Legal/Corporate Tax/Personal Tax/Vat Law/Legal Information/Tax Information/Legal Services/Tax Services Tax Management India. Com / MS Knowledge Processing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. One stop solution for Direct Taxes and Indirect Taxes https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=765820 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=765820 Dismissal of appeals on the ground of limitation as per Section 107 of the Central and Goods Services Tax Act, 2017 - power of Appellate Authority under Section 107 (4) of the CGST Act to condone the delay in filing an appeal beyond one month after the expiration of the three-month period specified in Sub-section (1) of Section 107 for filing an appeal against a decision or order issued by an adjudicating authority under the CGST Act - HELD THAT:- An assessee aggrieved by an order passed by the Adjudicating Authority may appeal to the Appellate Authority within three months from the date on which the said decision or order is communicated to such person. Sub-Section (4) of Section 107 of the CGST Act provides discretion to the Appellate Authority to entertain an appeal if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the prescribed three-month period, provided the appeal is presented within an additional period of one month. It is well settled that once a statute prescribes a specific period of limitation, the Appellate Authority does not inherently hold any power to condone the delay in filing the appeal by invoking the provisions of Section 5 or 29 of the Limitation Act, 1963. Reference can be invited to the decision of the Chhattisgarh High Court in Nandan Steels Power Ltd. v. State of Chhattisgarh [ 2022 (8) TMI 631 - CHHATTISGARH HIGH COURT] wherein it was held that the statutory timeline for filing an appeal under Section 107 (1) of the CGST Act is three months from the date the decision or order is communicated to the appellant. However, Section 107 (4) provides a limited extension of one additional month, at the discretion of the appellate authority, if sufficient cause is demonstrated. The Court observed that the Legislature, while allowing an extension in specific instances, did not intend for the Limitation Act to apply to proceedings under the CGST Act. Conclusion - The power to condone delay caused in pursuing a statutory remedy would always be dependent upon the statutory provision that governs. The right to seek condonation of delay and invoke the discretionary power inhering in an appellate authority would depend upon whether the statute creates a special and independent regime with respect to limitation or leaves an avenue open for the appellant to invoke the general provisions of the Limitation Act to seek condonation of delay. The facility to seek condonation can be resorted provided the legislation does not construct an independent regime with respect to an appeal being preferred. Once it is found that the legislation incorporates a provision which creates a special period of limitation and proscribes the same being entertained after a terminal date, the general provisions of the Limitation Act would cease to apply. Each of the appeals was filed beyond the prescribed period of limitation provided by Sections 107 (1) and 107 (4) of the CGST Act, the aforesaid writ petitions lack merit and are accordingly dismissed. Case-Laws GST Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0530