Filing of Certified Copy of Order Appealed Against is Not Mandatory but Procedural in Nature | HC

Case Details: Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. v. State of U.P. - [2025] 172 taxmann.com 832 (Allahabad)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Piyush Agrawal, J.
• Parth Goswami, Pranjal Shukla for the Petitioner.

Facts of the Case

The assessee, a public limited company, made purchases from various registered firms during the financial year 2017-18. A notice was issued to the assessee under section 61 of the GST Act, intimating discrepancies in returns Form GSTR – 3B, Form GSTR-9, Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-2A. Subsequently, a show cause notice was issued under section 73(1) of the GST Act on the ground of a difference in Form GSTR – 3B, Form GSTR – 1 and Form GSTR – 2A. The assessee preferred an appeal against the order issued by the State Tax Officer. However, the appeal was dismissed by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) on the ground that the certified copy of the impugned order was not filed as per rule 108 of the Rules framed under the GST Act. Aggrieved by the order, the assessee filed a writ petition before the Allahabad High Court.

High Court Held

The High Court held that the issue in hand has already been decided by the Delhi High Court in Chegg India Private Limited (2025) 123 taxmann.com 208 (Delhi) wherein the Court held that the condition for physically filing the certified copy is not mandatory but procedural in nature. If an appeal is preferred along with all documents and the copy of the appeal, the filing of a certified copy is not required. Similarly, in the case in hand, it was not in dispute that the appeal, which was preferred, was without the order appealed against. Once this fact is not in dispute, the issue in hand is covered by the judgement of the Delhi High Court in Chegg India Private Limited (supra). Thus, the impugned order passed by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) was to be set aside.

List of Cases Reviewed

• Chegg India Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India & Ors., W.P. (C) No. 1062/2024 & CM Appl. 4433/2024, dated 20-12-.2024, relied on