Orissa High Court Restores Time-Barred GST Appeal: Key Lessons on Limitation and Natural Justice

The Orissa High Court in M/s Mahesh Value Products Pvt. Ltd. v. Chief Commissioner of CT & GST and others has delivered an important ruling on how limitation periods under Section 107 of the GST law must be computed and how appellate authorities must handle replies filed through the GST portal.

The Court held that:

  • The Appellate Authority miscalculated the period of delay in filing the appeal;
  • The assessee’s electronically filed reply explaining the delay, though acknowledged, was ignored; and
  • This non-consideration amounted to an error apparent on the face of the record, warranting interference under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

The impugned order rejecting the appeal as time-barred was therefore quashed, and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication on merits after proper consideration of the assessee’s explanation for delay.

Factual Matrix of the Case

Adjudication Proceedings and Initial Order

M/s Mahesh Value Products Pvt. Ltd. (the Petitioner/assessee) was subjected to proceedings under Section 73 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the GST Act”) for the tax periods from April, 2022 to March, 2023.

  • The Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Cuttack-I City Circle, Cuttack passed an adjudication order on October 15, 2025.
  • The order was uploaded and made available on the GST common portal on the same date, i.e., October 15, 2025.

Under Section 107(1) of the GST Act, an appeal against this order had to be filed within three months from the date of communication of the order.

Limitation for Filing Appeal Under Section 107

The relevant statutory framework is as follows:

  • Section 107(1) – prescribes a period of three months from the date on which the order is communicated to the assessee.
  • Section 107(4) – grants the Appellate Authority discretion to condone a further period of one month if sufficient cause is shown.

Thus, the maximum period for filing an appeal is four months from the date of communication (three months plus one additional condonable month).

In this case:

  1. The adjudication order was communicated on October 15, 2025.
  2. The three-month limitation period therefore ran up to January 15, 2026.
  3. The further one-month condonable period under Section 107(4) extended the outer limit to **February 15, 2026`.

Filing of Appeal and Alleged Delay

The assessee filed an appeal in Form GST APL-01 on February 13, 2026 under Section 107 read with Rule 108 of the GST Rules.

  • The appeal was filed after expiry of the three-month base period, but
  • Within the additional one-month period that the Appellate Authority is empowered to condone.

By correct computation, the delay beyond the initial three-month period worked out to 29 days, squarely within the condonable period of one month.

However, the Additional Commissioner of State Tax (Appeal), Central Zone-I, Cuttack (“Appellate Authority”) treated the delay as 31 days, i.e., beyond the permissible condonable limit under Section 107(4).

Show Cause Notice on Limitation

On March 10, 2026, the Appellate Authority issued a Show Cause Notice calling upon the assessee to explain why the appeal should not be dismissed as time-barred on the premise that it was delayed by 31 days.

In response:

  • The assessee submitted a reply dated March 14, 2026,
  • Filed electronically on the GST common portal on March 17, 2026,
  • The portal generated an “Acknowledgment for Reply,” confirming successful e-filing and receipt by the authority.

In this reply, the assessee clearly pointed out that:

  • The delay was 29 days and not 31 days; and
  • The appeal was therefore filed within the condonable window under Section 107(4).

Impugned Order Rejecting the Appeal

Despite the acknowledged electronic filing of the reply, the Appellate Authority passed an order dated March 23, 2026, wherein it:

  • Proceeded on the assumption that the assessee did not respond to the Show Cause Notice;
  • Computed the delay as 31 days, treating it as beyond the statutory limit; and
  • Rejected the appeal as time-barred, holding that further delay beyond one month was beyond its jurisdiction to condone under Section 107(4) of the GST Act.

Aggrieved by this rejection, the assessee invoked the writ jurisdiction of the Orissa High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India.

The central question framed was: