Rajoria Bharat Gas Vs Union of India (Rajasthan High Court)
The Rajasthan High Court issued notice to the respondents and heard the parties on a writ petition where the petitioner submitted that the GST appeal could not be filed on the portal as it was beyond the period prescribed under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017/Rajasthan GST Act, 2017. The petitioner stated that the delay occurred as the consultant, who was aware of the order passed under Section 73 of the Act, fell sick and could not communicate with the petitioner, while the petitioner himself could not learn of the impugned order in time due to pressure of LPG gas deliveries arising from the paucity in the country on account of the Gulf War. The petitioner requested permission to file a physical appeal to be decided on merits.
The GST Departments opposed the petition, contending that knowledge of the consultant should be presumed to be knowledge of the petitioner and that the reasons for condoning the delay were not acceptable.
The High Court observed that the impugned order imposed an additional tax demand under Section 73 of the Act and involved no allegation of fraud. It further observed that whether the additional tax was payable had to be examined on merits and that, even if the appellate forum was otherwise unavailable, the petitioner could not be left remediless to challenge the order on merits.
