Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Sabita Singh, wife of Barun Kumar Singh and a resident of Darbhanga, Bihar, approached the Patna High Court in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.16514 of 2023 against the Union of India, the State of Bihar and the jurisdictional State Tax officers. Her statutory appeal against an assessment order had been rejected as time-barred, since it was filed beyond even the additional one-month condonable period allowed under Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax (BGST) Act. While the writ was pending, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs issued Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax dated 2nd November 2023, extending the time for filing appeals against orders passed under Sections 73 and 74 of the BGST Act on or before 31st March 2023, up to 31st January 2024, subject to specified pre-deposit conditions. The Division Bench heard the matter on 30th November 2023.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the Appellate Authority or the High Court under Article 226 could condone a delay in filing an appeal beyond the period expressly prescribed under Section 107 of the BGST Act.
  2. Whether the benefit of the amnesty extended by Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax could be extended to a petitioner whose appeal already stood rejected as time-barred.
  3. What conditions had to be satisfied for the delayed appeal to be treated as validly filed under the notification.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The delay in filing the first appeal occurred despite bona fide efforts, and the rejection left the petitioner without any remedy against the underlying tax demand.
  • The subsequently issued Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax specifically extended the limitation for appeals against orders passed under Sections 73/74 of the BGST Act, and the petitioner's case squarely fell within its scope.
  • The impugned rejection order deserved to be set aside so that the appeal could be restored and considered on merits under the amnesty scheme.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Additional Solicitor General, appearing for the Union of India, did not dispute the existence or applicability of Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax to orders passed under Sections 73 and 74 of the BGST Act.
  • Any relief had to be strictly conditional upon the petitioner satisfying the pre-deposit and procedural requirements prescribed in paragraphs 2 to 6 of the notification.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court reiterated the settled position that where a statute prescribes a specific limitation period along with a defined condonable window, neither the Appellate Authority nor the High Court under Article 226 can condone delay beyond that period.
  • The Court held that Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax effectively extended the time for filing appeals against Section 73/74 orders up to 31st January 2024, subject to payment of the admitted tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty in full, plus 12.5% of the disputed tax (capped at ₹25 crore), of which at least 20% had to be debited from the Electronic Cash Ledger.
  • The impugned rejection order dated 14.07.2023 was set aside, conditional upon the petitioner satisfying the notification's payment conditions before 31.01.2024, failing which the impugned order would stand automatically restored.
  • The writ petition was allowed on these terms, with liberty to the Appellate Authority to take up and decide the restored appeal on merits once the conditions were fulfilled.

Important Clarification

A statutory limitation period, once expired along with any condonable extension, cannot be condoned under writ jurisdiction; however, a subsequent government amnesty notification specifically extending the appeal period for orders under Sections 73/74 can revive a time-barred appeal, provided the taxpayer satisfies the notification's pre-deposit conditions within the extended timeline.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — limitation for filing appeals.
  • Sections 73 and 74 of the BGST Act, 2017 — determination of tax not paid or short paid.
  • Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023 issued under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
  • Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Decision – In Favour of

The decision substantially favours the Assessee, as the writ petition was allowed and the time-barred rejection order was set aside, giving the petitioner a fresh opportunity to have the appeal heard on merits. The relief, however, is conditional — the petitioner must comply with the pre-deposit terms of the amnesty notification within the stipulated deadline, failing which the original adverse order revives automatically.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Patna
  • Case No.: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.16514 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Rajiv Roy
  • Decision Date: 30-11-2023
  • Disposal Nature: Writ petition allowed on conditions under GST amnesty notification

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