Andromeda Sales And Distribution Pvt. Ltd. Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court dismissed an intra-court appeal filed by the assessee against the order of a Single Judge, who had earlier dismissed the writ petition challenging the GST assessment order dated 04.08.2025 on the ground of violation of the principles of natural justice.
The Single Judge had observed that the assessee failed to adhere to the prescribed timelines and did not cooperate with the assessment proceedings initiated through the show cause notice dated 28.06.2023. The assessment order was passed nearly two years after the issuance of the show cause notice. However, considering the assessee’s contention that its reply had not been considered by the Assessing Officer, the Single Judge granted liberty to file a statutory appeal against the assessment order, subject to specified conditions.
The assessee challenged the conditional relief by filing an intra-court appeal with a delay of 15 days, explaining that the delay resulted from administrative and procedural reasons, including obtaining legal opinion and departmental instructions.
The Division Bench found that the appellant had prolonged the proceedings by failing to cooperate with the assessment process and by not availing the statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 of the Central/State Goods and Services Tax Act. The Court observed that filing the delayed intra-court appeal appeared to be an attempt to evade or defer payment of tax. Considering the involvement of State revenue and the unreasonable delay, the Court declined to condone the delay.
