GST Appeals Must Be Filed On Time, Writ Cannot Override Statutory Limitation: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court on 16 March held that a party cannot bypass statutory limitation by approaching the High Court under writ jurisdiction. Statutory appeals must be filed within the prescribed period.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar dismissed the writ petition filed by Nayan Enterprises challenging a GST adjudication order, noting that it had failed to show “sufficient cause” for not filing an appeal within the prescribed limitation period.

The Bench observed:

“If, despite the service of a show cause and the grant of opportunities, the Petitioner does not avail of the same, the resulting order cannot be attacked as ex parte.”

Nayan Enterprises had challenged an adjudication order dated 7 April 2022 for the period April 2020 to March 2021. It contended that its GST registration, cancelled on 29 May 2022 and restored only on 4 July 2023, prevented timely filing of the appeal. It also claimed that the order violated principles of natural justice, alleging lack of proper hearing.

Rejecting these submissions, the Court observed that there was a clear window between 7 April 2022 and 29 May 2022 during which the petitioner could have filed an appeal. Cancellation of registration did not bar the petitioner from pursuing statutory remedies or approaching the Court within a reasonable time.

On the plea of violation of natural justice, the Bench found no merit, noting that show cause notices had been issued and opportunities to respond were granted, but the petitioner failed to do so.

Relying on Supreme Court precedents including Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Health Care Ltd. and Rikhab Chand Jain, the Bench held that a party who fails to avail statutory remedy within time cannot seek discretionary relief under Article 226.

It further emphasised that writ jurisdiction cannot be used to defeat statutory limitation or bypass alternate remedies.

Accordingly, the Bench dismissed the writ petition.

Appearance for the Petitioner: Mrs. Darshana Poddar Mishra, Advocate Mr. Deepak Sinha, Advocate

Appearance for the Respondent: Mr. Aditya Kumar, A.C. to Sr.S.C.-I