Ashok Kumar Saha Vs Union of India & ors. (Calcutta High Court)
In Ashok Kumar Saha vs Union of India & Ors., the Calcutta High Court addressed the dismissal of a GST appeal on grounds of limitation. The petitioner challenged the appellate authority’s order dated 20th September 2024, which had upheld an earlier ex parte adjudication order dated 18th December 2023 under Section 73 of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, for the tax period July 2017 to March 2018.
The appellate authority rejected the appeal citing delay, although the petitioner argued that the delay was marginal. Importantly, the original adjudication order had been passed without granting a personal hearing and allegedly without considering the petitioner’s response filed in Form DRC-06 on 11th October 2023.
Justice emphasized the absence of a functional GST Appellate Tribunal, which renders High Courts the only available forum for certain appeals. Noting the multi-tier adjudicatory scheme under the GST regime, the Court held that it would not serve any meaningful purpose to prolong the writ petition when the dispute revolved around procedural fairness.
The High Court set aside both the appellate order and the consequential demand raised in Form APL-04, and remanded the matter to the appellate authority with instructions to hear the case on merits. The authority was directed to consider the petitioner’s response and provide an opportunity of hearing.
