Facts of the Case

M/S J.K Infratech's GST registration was cancelled by an ex-parte order dated 17.9.2019 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Sector-3, Commercial Tax, Sonbhadra, on the basis of a notice claimed to have been served through the common portal. The petitioner stated it had no knowledge of the notice. The cancellation order itself was also uploaded on the common portal on 17.9.2019, but the physical copy was never served. The Government of U.P. subsequently issued Government Order No. 792 dated 29.7.2020, deeming service of such orders to have been effected on 31.8.2020. The petitioner's first appeal under Section 107 of the U.P. GST Act, 2017, filed on 19.3.2021, was dismissed by the Additional Commissioner Grade II (Appeal), Commercial Tax, Sonbhadra, vide order dated 16.7.2021, as time-barred. The petitioner challenged this appellate rejection before the Allahabad High Court.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the appeal filed on 19.3.2021 against the registration-cancellation order was barred by limitation under Section 107 of the U.P. GST Act, 2017.
  2. Whether the period during which limitation stood suspended by orders of the Supreme Court and the High Court on account of the COVID-19 pandemic (15.3.2020 to 14.3.2021) was required to be excluded while computing the limitation period.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The cancellation order dated 17.9.2019 was passed ex-parte and its physical copy was never served on the petitioner.
  • By operation of U.P. Government Order No. 792 dated 29.7.2020, service of the order was deemed to have taken place only on 31.8.2020.
  • Once deemed service is reckoned from 31.8.2020, and the limitation period is further extended by the Supreme Court's and High Court's suspension orders covering 15.3.2020 to 14.3.2021, limitation began running only from 15.3.2021, making the appeal filed on 19.3.2021 well within time.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Standing Counsel appeared for the respondents and did not seriously dispute the factual position regarding deemed service under Government Order No. 792 or the applicability of the Supreme Court's limitation-suspension orders.
  • The appellate authority's rejection order, treating the appeal as time-barred without accounting for the suspension period, was placed before the Court for consideration.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court noted that the cancellation order dated 17.9.2019 was deemed served on the petitioner only on 31.8.2020, in terms of Government Order No. 792 dated 29.7.2020.
  • Limitation to file the first appeal stood suspended from 15.3.2020 to 14.3.2021 under the orders passed by the Supreme Court and the High Court, and therefore began to run only from 15.3.2021.
  • The appeal filed on 19.3.2021 was accordingly held to be wholly within the three-month limitation period (with a further one-month condonable period) prescribed under Section 107.
  • The impugned order dated 16.7.2021 dismissing the appeal as time-barred was set aside, and the matter was remitted to the appellate authority to decide the appeal dated 19.3.2021 on merits, treating it as filed within time.

Important Clarification

  • Where a GST registration-cancellation order is uploaded on the common portal but its physical copy is never served, the deemed date of service fixed by a State Government order (here, U.P. Government Order No. 792 dated 29.7.2020, deeming service on 31.8.2020) governs the starting point for limitation, not the date of upload.
  • The pandemic-related suspension of limitation (15.3.2020 to 14.3.2021) applies cumulatively on top of such deemed service dates while computing the limitation for filing a first appeal under Section 107.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — prescribes the limitation period (three months, extendable by one month on sufficient cause) for filing a first appeal against an adverse order.
  • Section 29, U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — governs cancellation of GST registration, including on grounds of non-compliance.

Decision – In Favour of

Decided in favour of the Assessee on the limitation issue; the impugned rejection was set aside and the matter remitted for the appeal to be heard on merits, so the final outcome on the registration cancellation itself remains open before the appellate authority.

Related Case Laws

This ruling follows the same reasoning applied by the Allahabad High Court in other writ petitions concerning ex-parte GST registration-cancellation orders where limitation computation is affected by Government Order No. 792 dated 29.7.2020 read with the Supreme Court's suo motu limitation-extension orders arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
  • Case No.: WRIT TAX No. 76 of 2022
  • Coram: Hon'ble Saumitra Dayal Singh, J.
  • Order Date: 24.02.2022
  • Petitioner: M/S J.K Infratech
  • Respondents: Additional Commissioner and Another

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