Desk of CA. Praveen Sharma – 1035 Series (CAPS) 

 ORISSA HIGH COURT IN THE CASE OF  M/s. Mahesh Value Products Pvt. Ltd. v. Chief Commissioner of CT & GST & Others

The Orissa High Court, in the case of M/s. Mahesh Value Products Pvt. Ltd. v. Chief Commissioner of CT & GST & Others, has clarified the correct method of computing limitation for filing an appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act. The dispute arose after the Appellate Authority rejected the taxpayer's appeal on the ground that it had been filed beyond the condonable period.

The taxpayer argued that the date on which the order was communicated should not be included while calculating the limitation period. Accepting this contention, the High Court relied on Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, which provides that where a period is to be reckoned from a particular day, that day must be excluded from the computation.

The Court held that the limitation period begins on the day immediately following the date of communication of the order. On recalculating the limitation accordingly, it found that the appeal had actually been filed within the outer condonable period prescribed under the GST law.

The High Court observed that the Appellate Authority had committed a computational error in calculating the limitation period and that such an error resulted in the wrongful rejection of the appeal. Consequently, the order rejecting the appeal as time-barred was set aside.

This judgment reiterates that limitation provisions under the GST law must be computed carefully and accurately. A minor mistake in calculating limitation should not deprive a taxpayer of the valuable statutory right to appeal.

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