VA Tech Wabag Ltd. Vs Assistant Commissioner of Revenue (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court considered whether the First Appellate Authority was justified in dismissing the petitioner’s appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 solely on limitation when the petitioner had paid the mandatory pre-deposit under Section 107(6) and demonstrated sufficient cause for delay. An adjudication order under Section 73 had been passed on 13.03.2023 and communicated through the GST portal. The petitioner filed an appeal on 21.08.2023 disputing the quantum of interest charged. The First Appellate Authority dismissed the appeal on 29.11.2023 as being beyond the period prescribed under Sections 107(1) and 107(4), holding that the delay could not be condoned.
The petitioner explained that the delay was not wilful and had occurred because the person entrusted with communicating the order and looking after the business affairs had fallen seriously ill. The High Court noted that medical documents supporting this explanation had been annexed to the writ petition and found that sufficient cause for the delay had been demonstrated. It further recorded that the mandatory pre-deposit had admittedly been paid. The Court held that dismissing the appeal solely on limitation without considering the sufficient cause shown and substantial compliance with Section 107(6) amounted to a hyper-technical approach and that, once the mandatory pre-deposit stood satisfied, the appellate remedy could not be rendered illusory.
