Hari Shankar Patel Vs State of Chhattisgarh (Chhattisgarh High Court)
Chhattisgarh High Court in Hari Shankar Patel v. State of Chhattisgarh examined the issue of limitation for filing appeals under the Chhattisgarh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act). The petitioner had challenged an order dated 15 April 2025, whereby his appeal was dismissed under Section 107(11) of the CGST Act for being filed beyond the prescribed period.
The petitioner argued that the adjudicating authority had passed an ex-parte order on 7 August 2024, imposing tax, penalty, and interest of ₹8.56 lakh. He sought rectification under Section 161 on 9 August 2024, which was rejected on 11 December 2024. His appeal was filed on 17 March 2025. The petitioner contended that the limitation period should be reckoned from the rejection of the rectification application and relied on the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court decision in M/s SPK and Co. v. State Tax Officer (W.P.(MD) Nos. 27787 and 27788/2024, order dated 22 November 2024). That decision held that limitation for challenging an assessment order begins from the date of rejection of the rectification application.
The Court also took note of CBIC Circular No. 224/18/2024-GST dated 11 July 2024, which provided interim guidelines for recovery where appeals were affected due to the non-constitution of GST Appellate Tribunals. Accepting the petitioner’s submission, the Court observed that no further adjudication was necessary.
