The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging a CGST demand order, holding that it was filed well beyond the three-months appeal period and thus not maintainable.
The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Praveen Kumar Giri underscored that Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017 provides a three-month period to file an appeal against a tax order, with a further one-month condonable delay upon sufficient cause being shown. Beyond this period, neither the appellate authority nor the High Court can extend the limitation period.
The court noted that order was validly served via registered email on January 31, 2025, as per Section 169 of the CGST Act, starting the limitation clock on that date. However, the writ petition was filed only on July 3, 2025, far beyond the maximum allowable period.
The Court categorically held that a taxpayer cannot bypass the statutory appellate framework by filing writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution after the expiry of the limitation period, unless there is a gross violation of natural justice or jurisdictional error.
The Bench held that imitation provisions in special tax statutes are mandatory and must be strictly followed. Writ jurisdiction cannot be invoked to defeat statutory timelines. Section 14 of the Limitation Act (exclusion for bona fide pursuit of remedies) may apply in rare cases, but was not relevant here. There was no violation of natural justice or patent illegality in the case at hand.
Finding no valid justification for the delay, the Court dismissed the writ petition at the threshold. It clarified that if the petitioner chooses to pursue an appeal as per law, the appellate authority shall decide the matter independently.
Case Details
Case Title: Atlantis Intelligence Ltd. Versus UOI
Case No.: WRIT TAX No. – 3608 of 2025
Date: 11.8.2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Mohit Singh
Counsel For Respondent: A.S.G.I.,C.S.C.,Gaurav Mahajan, Saumitra Singh
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