Prakash Medical Stores Vs Union of India And 3 Others (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court held that the benefit of the principle underlying Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies to appeals filed under Section 107 of the GST Act when a rectification application under Section 161 is filed within time. The Court allowed the writ petition and set aside the appellate order that had dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal as time-barred.
The dispute arose from an ex parte adjudication order dated 23 April 2024 passed under Section 73 of the GST Act for the financial year 2018–19, creating tax, interest, and penalty demands. Instead of immediately filing an appeal under Section 107, the petitioner first filed a rectification application under Section 161 on 23 May 2024, within the statutory time prescribed for rectification. This rectification application was later rejected on 22 October 2024 as not maintainable. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a first appeal under Section 107 on 29 November 2024.
The appellate authority dismissed the appeal on 5 March 2025 as time-barred, holding that it had been filed beyond the prescribed limitation period of three months plus the condonable period of one month. Challenging this order, the petitioner contended that the time spent in bona fide pursuit of the rectification application should be excluded while computing limitation for filing the appeal, based on the principle embodied in Section 14 of the Limitation Act.
