HC Directs Appellate Authority to Decide Belated Appeal of Assessee on Merits as Order Was Uploaded Directly on Portal

Case Details: Elanco India (P.) Ltd. v. Excise and Taxation Officer - [2024] 166 taxmann.com 818 (Punjab & Haryana)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Sanjeev Prakash Sharma & Sanjay Vashisth, J.J.
• Ms Priyanka Rathi, Ashwini Chandrasekaran, Adv. for the Petitioner.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner was a company engaged in business of animal health products and medicaments. It filed writ petition to challenge the order passed by the department. It was contended by the petitioner that the impugned order was passed on 30.12.2023 and same was not communicated to petitioner. The petitioner discovered the order in April, 2024 and filed writ petition on ground that limitation period of filing appeal had expired.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the petitioner had been conveyed the order only in April, 2024 during a scrutiny proceeding, and therefore, the appeal could have been filed only after April, 2024. However, the provision only states that the limitation would count from the date of passing of the order. Therefore, it was held that the contention of petitioner that it was prevented from filing appeal within time was to be accepted. The Court also directed the Appellate Authority to examine the merits of the appeal, if the same was preferred within a period of 15 days henceforth.