Delay Beyond Statutory Limit Under Section 107 GST Cannot Be Condoned Even by High Court Under Article 226

The petitioner, M/s Tapi Ready Plast, challenged the rejection of its statutory GST appeal on the ground of limitation. An Order-in-Original under Section 73 of the Gujarat GST Act was passed on 28.02.2024 for FY 2018-19. The petitioner filed an appeal under Section 107 on 13.08.2024, which was beyond the maximum condonable period prescribed under the statute.

The Appellate Authority rejected the appeal, holding that it had no power to condone delay beyond the statutory limit of three months plus one additional month. Aggrieved, the petitioner approached the High Court under Article 226 seeking quashing of the appellate order and, in the alternative, condonation of delay.

The High Court examined the statutory scheme of Section 107 and held that the maximum permissible period for filing an appeal is 120 days, beyond which neither the Appellate Authority nor the High Court can grant relief. The Court relied on authoritative Supreme Court precedents to hold that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 does not apply to special statutes like the GST Act.

The Court rejected the grounds cited by the petitioner such as illness of the accountant, closure of business, and financial constraints, observing that such reasons do not confer jurisdiction where the statute expressly bars condonation beyond a fixed period.

The Court further held that Article 226 cannot be invoked to override legislative intent, and entertaining such writ petitions would render the statutory limitation framework otiose.

GST appeals must be filed strictly within the statutory timeline of three months plus one condonable month under Section 107. Once this outer limit expires, remedies under Article 226 are extremely limited and ordinarily unavailable. Reasons such as business closure, illness of staff, or financial difficulty are unlikely to justify interference by constitutional courts.

Taxpayers and practitioners must treat GST appeal timelines as mandatory deadlines, not procedural formalities.

The writ petition was dismissed and the order passed by the Appellate Authority rejecting the appeal on the ground of limitation was upheld. The Court held that delay beyond the maximum condonable period prescribed under Section 107 of the GST Act cannot be condoned even in exercise of writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

For complete facts, arguments, and judicial reasoning, refer to the uploaded judgment PDF.