HC Grants Assessee Fresh Opportunity in Delay Appeal Case

Centax Editorial Board

March 19, 2026March 20, 2026

• 2 min. read

Case Details: Sanjeet Singh vs. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Barrackpore Charge (2026) 40 Centax 30 (Cal.)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

Om Narayan Rai, J.
S/Shri Akshat Agarwal, Adv. & Doyel Dey, for the Petitioner.
S/Shri Tanoy Chakraborty & Saptak Sanyal, for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner-assessee filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority against an adjudication order passed under the CGST Act, which was dismissed on the ground of delay. The petitioner contended that the adjudication order had only been uploaded on the GST portal under the ‘view additional notices and orders’ tab and, therefore, the petitioner remained unaware of the same. It was further submitted that the order had not been properly served and hence the limitation period could not be said to have commenced. However, it was noted that such grounds regarding improper service of the order had not been raised before the Appellate Authority in the application seeking condonation of delay. The petitioner thereafter approached the High Court challenging the rejection of the appeal. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court.

High Court Held

The High Court held that the grounds now urged regarding improper service of the adjudication order were not raised before the Appellate Authority and there was no material on record to substantiate such contentions. The Court observed that in the absence of such submissions before the Appellate Authority, the order rejecting the appeal on the ground of limitation could not be faulted. It further noted that the petitioner was raising these submissions for the first time before the Court. However, considering the submission that the petitioner had reasonable explanations to offer, the Court held that one more opportunity ought to be granted to approach the Appellate Authority with all relevant explanations and supporting documents. Accordingly, the petition was disposed of by permitting the petitioner to seek appropriate relief before the Appellate Authority.