Rajasthan High Court permits condonation of delay in GST appeals and directs fresh decision on merits

Background of the petitions

Multiple writ petitions came up before the Rajasthan High Court in which the assessee’s statutory appeals under the RGST Act, 2017 / CGST Act, 2017 had been rejected solely on the ground of limitation under Section 107. The grievance in each matter was that the appellate authority had declined to entertain the appeals as time-barred, without examining the substantive issues involved.

The petitioners approached the High Court invoking its writ jurisdiction, seeking:

  • Condonation of the delay in filing their GST appeals, and
  • A direction that their appeals be decided on merits instead of being dismissed at the threshold on limitation.

Stand of the State and Union authorities

During the hearing, the learned Additional Advocate General and the associate of the learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the respondents apprised the Court that the issue raised in these petitions was not res integra. They drew the Court’s attention to earlier judgments of the Rajasthan High Court where an identical controversy had already been dealt with, namely:

  • “Jagdamba Motors vs. Union of India & Ors.” (B. Civil Writ Petition No.4740/2024 and connected matters; decided on 27.11.2024);
  • “M/s Komal Marble vs. State Of Rajasthan & Ors.” (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1113/2024; decided on 15.02.2024`); and
  • The subsequent following of these decisions by a Co-ordinate Bench in “M/s World Trade Park Ltd. vs. Union of India & Ors.” (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.2385/2024; dated 01.12.2025, Annexure-R/2).

The respondents fairly conceded that the question involved in the present batch of petitions — delay in filing appeal under Section 107 and its consequences — had been addressed in these earlier decisions.

Consensus among counsel

Counsel on both sides concurred that the present writ petitions could be resolved in line with the legal position already laid down in the above-cited cases. There was no dispute either on the factual similarity or on the applicable legal principles.

Counsel appearing for the petitioners additionally clarified that, in light of the existing precedent, they were not pressing any other relief beyond seeking condonation of delay and restoration of their right to have the appeals heard on merits.

Reliance on Supreme Court decision in M/s Tecnimont Pvt. Ltd

In deciding the present matters, the Rajasthan High Court placed reliance on the judgment of the Supreme Court in “M/s Tecnimont Pvt. Ltd vs. State of Punjab and Ors.” ((2021) 12 SCC 477). In that case, the Supreme Court had permitted condonation of delay in filing of a statutory appeal in the GST context, enabling adjudication of the dispute on merits instead of non-suiting the assessee for technical default of limitation.

Important: The High Court followed the principle that where higher courts have already exercised discretion to condone delay in similar GST appeals, subordinate forums and writ courts should adopt a consistent approach to avoid denial of substantive justice merely on technical grounds.