Name: M/s. Cholaa Tapes vs. GST Authorities Vs Deputy Commissioner of
GST & Central Excise
Court: High Court of Judicature at Madras:
Dated: 15.12.2023
W.P. No. 34751 of 2023 and W.M.P. Nos. 34721 & 34722 of 2023
Facts of the Case:
The petitioner, M/s.
Cholaa Tapes, contested the proceedings initiated by the first respondent via
Order-in-Original No. 02/2021 dated 20.07.2021 and the subsequent summary order
dated 16.06.2023. The petitioner also challenged the impugned order dated
21.09.2023 passed by the second respondent, which rejected their appeal on the
grounds of delay.
Submissions by the Petitioner:
The petitioner's
counsel argued that the appeal should have been filed within 90 days from the
date of the original order (20.07.2021), and any delay up to 30 days could be
condoned by the Appellate Authority. The petitioner claimed that the summary
order was served on 16.06.2022, giving them until 30.09.2022 to file an appeal,
with an additional 30-day period for delay, extending the deadline to
13.10.2022. However, they filed the appeal on 04.11.2022, resulting in a delay
of 22 days. The petitioner contended that this delay should be condoned, but
their appeal was dismissed.
Submissions by the Respondents:
The respondents'
counsel asserted that the delay in filing the appeal was not 22 days but 158
days, calculated from the date of the original order (20.07.2021), not the
recovery notice (16.06.2022). They suggested that the petitioner could avail of
the Amnesty Scheme.
Court's Observations and Judgment:
Justice Krishnan
Ramasamy observed that according to Notification No. 53/2023-Central Tax dated
02.11.2023, taxpayers who could not file an appeal against orders under Section
73 or 74 of the CGST Act by 31.03.2023 could follow a special procedure for
filing appeals by 31.01.2024. This included cases where appeals were rejected
solely due to time limits.
The court directed the
petitioner to utilize the Amnesty Scheme as per the mentioned notification and
instructed the first respondent to consider their appeal in accordance with the
law.
Conclusion:
The writ petition was
disposed of with directions for the petitioner to avail of the Amnesty Scheme.
No costs were awarded, and connected miscellaneous petitions were also closed.
Disclaimer: All the Information is based on the notification, circular and order issued by the Govt. authority and judgement delivered by the court or the authority information is strictly for educational purposes and on the basis of our best understanding of laws & not binding on anyone.
