GST Appeal Cannot Be Rejected as Time-Barred When Ex-Parte Order Was Merely Uploaded on Portal Without Proper Communication: Allahabad High Court

Case Overview

Case Name: A S Engineering Vs State of U.P. and Another
Court: Allahabad High Court
Key Provision: Section 112(8) of the Goods and Services Tax Act
Precedents Relied Upon: M/S Bambino Agro Industries Ltd. Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr.; 2025:AHC:229995-DB and M/S Associate Molasses Transport Company Vs. State of U.P. and Another

Background and Facts of the Case

The Allahabad High Court was called upon to adjudicate a writ petition filed by A S Engineering, wherein the core grievance was the outright rejection of its first appeal by the appellate authority solely on the ground of limitation. The assessee contended that the dismissal was legally unsound because the ex-parte adjudication order against it had never been formally communicated — it had merely been uploaded on the common GST portal.

The question before the Court was whether, in such circumstances, the limitation period for filing a first appeal should be counted from the date the order was uploaded on the portal, or from the date the assessee actually came to know of the order through proper communication or initiation of recovery proceedings.

Precedents That Governed the Decision

M/S Bambino Agro Industries Ltd. Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr.; 2025:AHC:229995-DB

This Division Bench ruling served as the foundational precedent in the present matter. The Allahabad High Court, in this earlier decision, laid down a significant principle: where an ex-parte adjudication order is simply uploaded on the common GST portal without being properly communicated to the assessee, the computation of limitation cannot automatically begin from the date of such upload. The issue of limitation, in such scenarios, remains open for reconsideration by the appellate authority.

M/S Associate Molasses Transport Company Vs. State of U.P. and Another (Writ Tax No. 539 of 2026, decided on 27.01.2026)

This subsequent Division Bench ruling directly applied the ratio of M/S Bambino Agro Industries Ltd. In that case, the appeal of the assessee against an ex-parte adjudication order dated 10.02.2025 had been dismissed as time-barred by the appellate authority vide order dated 14.10.2025.

The Division Bench, while disposing of the matter, made the following crucial observations (reproduced as in the original order):

"In view of the law laid down in M/S Bambino Agro Industries Ltd. (supra), it admits of no doubt that the order of appeal authority is not sustainable on the issue of limitation. Once the assessee has not been communicated the ex-parte adjudication order that had only been uploaded on the common portal, the issue of limitation did survive for consideration by the appeal authority in view of the stand taken by the present petitioner that ex-parte adjudication order dated 14.10.2025, much later upon initiation of recovery proceedings."

The Court further noted: