Divya Textile Industries Vs Assistant Commissioner (Telangana High Court)
The Telangana High Court examined a challenge to an Order-in-Original dated 02.09.2024 passed under Section 73 of the Telangana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for the tax period April 2019 to March 2020, along with an appellate order dated 23.02.2026 dismissing the petitioner’s appeal.
The petitioner primarily contended that the assessment order was barred by limitation because the last date for passing orders for the tax period 2019-20 was 31.08.2024, whereas the impugned order was dated 02.09.2024. The assessment had been made on a best judgment basis because the petitioner did not respond to the show cause notice or file any reply.
The Department filed a counter affidavit explaining that the time limit for passing orders under Section 73 for FY 2019-20 had been extended up to 31.08.2024. At the relevant time, the concerned Assistant Commissioner was holding charge of two circles and was required to process and upload a large number of orders using the same digital authentication. According to the Department, hundreds of orders were processed during the relevant period, and several orders were uploaded until the last hour of 31.08.2024. It was stated that the petitioner’s order could not be uploaded before midnight because of the change of day from Saturday to Sunday. Since 01.09.2024 was a public holiday, the order was uploaded on the next working day, 02.09.2024. The Department maintained that the delay was neither wilful nor deliberate.
