Order Date: 12 September 2022

Facts -

• The Petitioner, Consummate Technologies Pvt. Ltd, has filed present petition against the order dated 27.5.2022 passed by the Appellate Authority by which the appeal filed by the petitioner has been dismissed and orders of cancellation of registration of the petitioner has been upheld by holding that the appeal to be barred by the limitation, losing site of the fact that order of cancellation of registration was 9.8.2021 as is available even today on the GST portal. 
• The petitioner further submitted that no order with any other date canceling the registration of the petitioner is available on the GST portal. Further, no date of hearing has been fixed by the show cause notice issued for cancellation of registration and registration has been canceled by an ex-parte order passed on 24.2.2019 in violation of principles of natural justice.

Issue-

• Whether dismissal of appeal for the reason to be time barred is justifiable?

Order-

• The Single Bench of Hon’ble High Court relied in the case of M/S SINGH GROUP VERSUS STATE OF U.P. AND 2 OTHERS where it was held that once the Government exercised its powers and reached a satisfaction (that there were defects on the common portal with respect to service of orders) and, provided relaxation of limitation, by suspending the period of limitation with respect to orders passed up to 12 June, 2020 and placed the date of any order passed up to that date, to be 31.08.2020 (on deemed basis) and further since the Government Notification dated 29.08.2021 suspended the period of limitation to file revocation applications for the period 01.03.2020 to 31.08.2021, it may never have been said that such an application if filed by the petitioner within the extended period of limitation, on 18.09.2021, would have been beyond time.
• The Court held that the Appellate Authority has clearly erred in rejecting the appeal as time barred, the order dated 27.5.2022 is set aside and the matter is remitted to Appellate Authority to pass a fresh order strictly in accordance with law treating the appeal filed by the petitioner within limitation.
• Accordingly, the petition filed by the petitioner is allowed.