Appeal Limitation Runs From Date of Email, Not Failed Portal Upload; HC Remands Case.

Appeal Limitation Runs From Date of Email, Not Failed Portal Upload; HC Remands Case.

Issue

Whether the statutory time limit for filing an appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act begins from the date an order is passed, or from the date it is actually communicated to the taxpayer, especially when a “portal glitch” makes the order invisible to the assessee.

Facts

• An authority passed a Rectification Order on August 1, 2024.
• This order was not visible on the GST portal due to a “portal glitch.”
• The petitioners first received the order via an email from the department on November 13, 2024.
• The petitioners filed a statutory appeal against this order on January 8, 2025.
• The First Appellate Authority rejected the appeal as time-barred, treating the date of the order (August 1, 2024) as the date of communication.
• In the High Court, the GST department admitted that the portal upload on August 1 was not visible and that the first effective communication was the email on November 13, 2024.

Decision

• The High Court quashed and set aside the appellate authority’s order that had dismissed the appeal on limitation.
• It held that the limitation period for an appeal begins from the date of effective communication, which in this case was November 13, 2024 (the date of the email).
• The appeal filed on January 8, 2025, was well within the 90-day statutory period (plus the 30-day condonable period) when calculated from the correct communication date.
• The matter was remanded back to the first appellate authority to be decided on its merits.

Key Takeaways

• “Communication” Must Be Effective: The date of an order and the date of its “communication” are not the same. The limitation clock for an appeal only starts ticking from the date the taxpayer actually receives the order.
• A Failed Portal Upload is Not Communication: An order that is uploaded to the GST portal but is not visible to the taxpayer due to a “portal glitch” does not constitute valid communication under the law.
• Date of Email is Decisive: When the department’s first successful communication is via email, that date will be treated as the starting point for the limitation period.
• Taxpayer’s Right to Appeal Protected: The High Court will intervene in its writ jurisdiction to protect a taxpayer’s statutory right to appeal when that right is jeopardized by the department’s own technical or administrative failures.