Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd Vs State of Haryana And Others (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside an appellate order dismissing Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd’s GST appeal for non-prosecution and directed the concerned Appellate Authority to decide the appeal on merits. The petitioner had filed the appeal on 18.05.2022 against an order dated 29.06.2021 passed by the Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer under Section 20 of the IGST Act, 2017 read with Section 129(1)(a) of the HGST Act, 2017.
The original order determined tax of Rs.2,65,362 and imposed an equivalent penalty, resulting in a total demand of Rs.5,30,724. The Appellate Authority subsequently dismissed the appeal for non-prosecution by its order dated 02.01.2024, relying upon Ram Naresh Yadav [AIR 1987 SC 1500].
The High Court held that the Appellate Authority’s approach was not in conformity with law. It observed that an administrative appeal must be dealt with differently from proceedings before regular courts. Since the memorandum of appeal containing the petitioner’s submissions and grounds was available before the Appellate Authority, it ought to have examined and decided the appeal on merits. The Court particularly noted that the matter had been reserved on 13.12.2023.
If the appellant was absent on that date, the authority could have dismissed the proceeding for non-prosecution then. However, once the matter had been reserved, it was binding upon the authority to examine and adjudicate the appeal on merits. Accordingly, the High Court set aside the appellate order dated 02.01.2024 and directed the concerned Appellate Authority to decide the appeal on merits. The petitioner was permitted to appear before the authority, if it chose to do so; otherwise, the authority remained free to decide the appeal on merits. The writ petition was allowed and all pending applications were disposed of.
