Sree Krishna Hot Dip Galvanizers Vs State of Karnataka (Karnataka High Court)
Time spent in filing an appeal before the wrong authority is to be excluded while computing the limitation period
In the recent case of Sree Krishna Hot Dip Galvanizers v. State of Karnataka, the Karnataka High Court delivered a significant ruling regarding the exclusion of time spent in filing appeals before the wrong authority from the computation of the limitation period. The Karnataka High Court held that the time spent in preferring appeal before the wrong authority should be excluded while computing limitation period.
Facts:
Sree Krishna Hot Dip Galvanizers (“the Petitioner”) was aggrieved by the Penalty Order dated September 14, 2022 (“the Impugned Order”) passed by the Revenue Department (“the Respondent-1”). The Petitioner preferred an appeal before the Respondent-1 where they were of bonafide impression that it was the Appellate Authority. Subsequently, the Appellant realised that the appeal was preferred before the wrong forum and consequently, the Petitioner preferred one more appeal on June 27, 2023 before the Appellate Authority (“the Respondent 2”) and sought for the extension for the time under the Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (“the Limitation Act”). In addition, thereto, the Petitioner placed reliance upon the Notification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (“CBIC”) dated November 02, 2023, which extended the time for preferred appeals up to January 31, 2024. Under these circumstances, the Respondent-2 committed an error in issuing the Endorsement dated August 19, 2023 (“the Impugned Endorsement”) summarily dismissing the appeal as barred by the limitation, and the same deserved to be set aside.
Hence, aggrieved by the Impugned Endorsement, the Petitioner has filed the present wit petition.
Issue:
Whether the time spent in filing an appeal before the wrong authority to be excluded while computing the limitation period?
Held:
The Hon’ble Karnataka High Court in Writ Petition No. 25648 of 2023 held as under:
