Jharna Das Vs Joint Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court addressed the case of Jharna Das, who filed a writ petition challenging the rejection of her appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act, 2017, due to a delay in submission. The petitioner had filed the appeal on February 29, 2024, after making the mandatory 10% pre-deposit. However, her appeal was rejected when the system-generated acknowledgement in Form GST APL-02 cited “Delay in submission of Appeal” as the reason for rejection. The court noted that while the appeal was time-barred, the petitioner was not given the opportunity to file an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, for condonation of the delay. The court emphasized that the petitioner has a statutory right to seek such condonation, particularly since the delay was marginal. The court set aside the rejection order and granted the petitioner two weeks to file the necessary application under the Limitation Act. The appellate authority was instructed to consider the application and, if the delay is satisfactorily explained, proceed to hear the appeal on its merits within two months. The writ petition was disposed of with these directions, ensuring the petitioner a fair opportunity to contest the appeal.
