Arvind Fashion Limited Vs State of Haryana And Others (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
Time spent pursuing a rectification application under Section 161 of the CGST Act, is excluded while computing the limitation period for filing appeal
The Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court in Arvind Fashion Limited v. State of Haryana & Ors.[CWP 16286-2025, order dated September 26, 2025] held that when an assessee promptly files a rectification application against an assessment order, the period spent awaiting decision on rectification is to be excluded from the limitation period for filing appeal under Section 107 CGST Act. The appellate authority erred in holding the appeal time-barred by not considering this exclusion. Where there is no mala fide or delay attributable to the assessee, time awaiting rectification decision is to be discounted.
Facts:
Arvind Fashion Limited (“the Petitioner”) is a GST-registered entity. An assessment order in Form DRC-07 under Section 73 was issued, based on a difference in ITC claimed as per GSTR-2A and GSTR-3B, and on improper GST imposition concerning “other expenses” in the group’s consolidated PAN-India accounts instead of Haryana-specific figures.
The Petitioner promptly filed a rectification application under Section 161 together with the requisite pre-deposit of 10%. During the pendency of rectification, the Petitioner refrained from filing appeal. When rectification was denied, the Petitioner then filed an appeal, which was dismissed by the Appellate Authority as time-barred with a 109-day delay.
