The Patna High Court, in a judgment dated 14 December 2023, clarified how taxpayers in Bihar can still challenge assessment orders passed under the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (BGST Act) by using a special window created by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The case arose from a writ petition filed against an assessment order made under Section 73(9) of the BGST Act on 08 December 2021. The petitioner had not filed a statutory appeal within time and instead approached the High Court after almost a year’s delay. The Court explained that ordinarily neither the Appellate Authority nor the High Court (while exercising writ jurisdiction under Article 226) can condone a delay beyond the statutory limit for filing appeals under Section 107(4) of the BGST Act. However, because the CBIC issued Notification No. 53/2023–Central Tax on 02 November 2023, a one-time route exists to file or regularize delayed appeals against orders under Sections 73 or 74, subject to strict conditions and within a hard deadline of 31 January 2024.
Simplified Explanation of the Judgment
The petitioner asked the High Court to quash an assessment order passed under Section 73(9) of the BGST Act. Instead of using the statutory appeal remedy under Section 107, the petitioner came to the High Court after substantial delay. Under Section 107(4), an appeal must be filed within three months of the order, and the Appellate Authority can condone up to one additional month. Once that outer limit is crossed, neither the appellate forum nor the High Court can extend the time further in writ jurisdiction. The Bench reiterated this settled position: once the statute fixes an outer limit for condonation, courts cannot go beyond it.
However, the Court noted an important development: CBIC’s Notification No. 53/2023–Central Tax dated 02 November 2023. This notification creates a special, time-bound window for filing appeals under Sections 73 and 74 of the BGST/CGST Acts against orders passed by the Proper Officer on or before 31 March 2023. It effectively allows delayed appeals to be entertained, despite Section 107(4), provided the appellant follows the special procedure and meets specified pre-deposit requirements. Crucially, the appeal must be filed on or before 31 January 2024 in FORM GST APL-01. If an appeal was already filed and is pending, it will be treated as filed under this notification so long as the conditions are satisfied.
What must a taxpayer do to use this window? The notification requires two things before the appeal is admitted:
- Pay in full the amount admitted by the taxpayer (tax, interest, fine, fee, penalty) as per the impugned order; and
- Pay 12.5% of the remaining disputed tax, subject to a cap of ₹25 crore. Of this pre-deposit, at least 20% must be paid by debiting the Electronic Cash Ledger.
There are additional guardrails. No refund is to be granted till the appeal is decided, for any amount earlier paid in excess of what the notification requires; appeals not involving tax demand are not admissible; and Chapter XIII of the CGST Rules, 2017 applies mutatis mutandis to appeals under this notification.
Applying this framework, the High Court observed that the petitioner had not filed an appeal at all. Therefore, instead of entertaining the writ petition and examining the assessment on merits, the Court directed the petitioner to file a statutory appeal by using the special notification route, strictly within the notified deadline and after depositing the amounts required by paragraph 3 of the notification. If the petitioner does so, the appellate authority must take up the appeal and decide it on merits. With these directions, the writ petition was disposed of.
In short, the Court did not quash the assessment order in writ jurisdiction. Instead, it pointed the petitioner to the proper appellate remedy newly facilitated by the CBIC notification, stressing compliance with the conditions and the hard cutoff date of 31 January 2024. The message is clear: where the statute prescribes an appeal with a strict limitation scheme, writ petitions filed after the outer limit will not be entertained except to guide the litigant to any special statutory window provided by the executive notification.
Significance or Implication of the Judgment (For general public or government)
For taxpayers and businesses in Bihar, this judgment underscores two key points. First, the statutory appeal under Section 107 is the primary remedy against GST assessments. Courts will not ordinarily condone delays beyond the statutory cap; late writ petitions typically fail on limitation alone. Second, when the government opens a special appeal window—as it did through Notification 53/2023—eligible taxpayers should use it promptly and precisely. Missing the 31 January 2024 deadline or failing to make the required pre-deposit (admitted dues + 12.5% of disputed tax with the specified cash-ledger component) would result in losing the benefit and leave the assessment standing.
For the State and GST administration, the judgment validates consistent application of limitation provisions and encourages resolution in the appellate channel on merits, rather than through belated writs. It also reinforces uniform implementation of the special CBIC notification by clarifying that appeals filed within the window, with the mandated deposits, should be entertained and decided on merits, not rejected on limitation alone.
For tax professionals, the decision is a practical reminder: track government notifications that create temporary compliance windows and ensure clients complete every procedural step—form, timeline, and pre-deposit composition—so that appellate rights are preserved and the case is heard substantively.
Legal Issue(s) Decided and the Court’s Decision with reasoning
- Whether the High Court can entertain a delayed challenge to a GST assessment when the statutory appeal period under Section 107(4) has lapsed.
Decision: Generally, no. When the statute specifies a maximum condonable delay (three months + one month), neither the Appellate Authority nor the High Court in writ jurisdiction can extend time beyond that outer limit. - Effect of CBIC Notification No. 53/2023–Central Tax on delayed appeals under Sections 73/74.
Decision: The notification provides a special, time-bound route to file or regularize delayed appeals against orders passed on or before 31 March 2023, subject to strict pre-deposit conditions and the final deadline of 31 January 2024. Appeals compliant with the notification must be considered on merits. - What the petitioner must do in this case.
Decision: File an appeal under the notification by 31 January 2024 and first comply with paragraph 3 (admitted dues + 12.5% of disputed tax with at least 20% of that pre-deposit via Electronic Cash Ledger). Upon compliance, the appeal should be entertained on merits by the appellate authority.
Case Title
Prashant Luthra, Director, Brite Neon Signs Pvt. Ltd., Vs. State of Bihar
Case Number
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 3133 of 2023.
Coram and Names of Judges
Hon’ble the Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Roy.
Names of Advocates and who they appeared for
- For the petitioner: Mrs. Manju Jha, Advocate.
- For the respondents (State/Tax Department): Mr. Vikash Kumar (SC 11).
Link to Judgment
MTUjMzEzMyMyMDIzIzEjTg==-lViJvQIwNio=
If you found this explanation helpful and wish to stay informed about how legal developments may affect your rights in Bihar, you may consider following Samvida Law Associates for more updates.
