Esquire Electronics Vs State of Maharashtra & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
Conclusion: Benefit of CBIC Notification dated 2 November 2023 extending limitation for filing appeals up to 31 January 2024 could not be denied merely because adjudication order was passed after 31 March 2023; appeals restored subject to compliance with pre-deposit conditions.
Held: The present writ petition was instituted by Esquire Electronics after adjudication orders were passed by the proper officers against assessee. Assessee filed appeals against this before the appellate authority. Appellate authority dismissed those appeals by orders on the ground that the appeals had been instituted beyond the prescribed period of limitation. Aggrieved, assessee challenged the dismissal through the present petition, relying on the CBIC notification of 2 November 2023, which they claimed to have extended the period for filing appeals till 31 January 2024. Authorities contended that the notification applied only to orders passed on or before 31 March 2023 and therefore did not cover assessee’s case. It was held that Bombay High Court followed precedents from the Patna and Orissa High Courts, which had found no rational basis for fixing 31 March 2023 as the cut-off when the notification itself was issued on 2 November 2023. The Bombay High Court specifically referred to the decision of the Patna High Court in Nexus Motors Pvt. Ltd. vs. State of Bihar (2023) to make this observation. Consequently, High Court directed that the impugned orders dated 12 July 2024 be set aside and the appeals restored to Appellate Authority for a fresh decision on merits, subject to assessee’s compliance with the conditions of Notification No. 53 of 2023 which included payment of admitted amounts and the 12.5% pre-deposit requirement with at least 20% debited from the Electronic Cash Ledger. Assessee stated that they had paid an amount of 10% as pre-deposit, to which they were directed to pay the differential amount within four weeks of upload of the order; if paid, the appellate authority was to adjudicate the appeals on merits.
