Novacare Drug Specialities Pvt. Ltd. Vs State of Goa & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
The case concerned whether the delay in filing an appeal under Section 35 of the Goa Value Added Tax Act, 2005, could be condoned by applying the benefit of the Supreme Court’s COVID-19 limitation extension orders. The petitioner challenged an order dated 31.03.2023 passed by the Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (South), which had refused to condone the delay in filing an appeal against an assessment order.
The petitioner, a dealer registered under the Goa VAT Act, had filed returns for the assessment year 01.04.2016 to 31.03.2017. An assessment order dated 04.06.2020 was passed and served on the petitioner on 11.06.2020. The petitioner subsequently filed an appeal under Section 35 of the Act on 17.08.2022 along with proof of payment as required under the statute. Since the appeal was filed beyond the prescribed period, an application seeking condonation of delay accompanied the appeal.
The appellate authority rejected the application, holding that although the Supreme Court had extended limitation periods during the COVID-19 pandemic, the petitioner’s appeal had not been filed within the additional 90-day period commencing from 01.03.2022. According to the authority, the appeal was filed beyond both the ordinary period and the extended period, and since Section 35 did not permit condonation beyond one year, the delay could not be condoned. Consequently, the appeal was not admitted for consideration on merits.
