Lucky Traders Vs Assistant Commissioner (ST) (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court has intervened in a GST dispute, setting aside an appellate authority’s order and condoning a 129-day delay in an appeal filed by Lucky Traders. The court’s decision was based on the petitioner’s argument that they were unaware of the original assessment order because it was only uploaded to the GST portal and not served physically.
The petitioner explained that they only became aware of the assessment order, which demanded tax, penalty, and interest for the Assessment Year 2020-2021, after receiving a recovery notice. This lack of awareness prevented them from filing a timely appeal. The appellate authority had subsequently rejected the appeal solely on the grounds of being filed beyond the statutory limitation period.
The court, after hearing both sides, found the petitioner’s reason for the delay to be genuine. It set aside the appellate authority’s order and conditionally condoned the 129-day delay. As a condition for this relief, the court directed Lucky Traders to pay a sum of Rs. 5,000 to the Principal Government Naturopathy Medical College and Hospital within two weeks. The court mandated that the appellate authority must now take the appeal on record, provide the petitioner with a hearing, and pass an order on the merits of the case.
