Effective communication of orders is required prior to the initiation of the limitation period for appeals under the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act.

COMMON ORDER

The petitioner herein is an assessee registered with the second respondent. Surprise inspection was conducted on the petitioner's business premises on 10.11.2022 and 11.11.2022. This was followed by issuance of show cause notices dated 28.02.2023 under Section 74 of the TNGST Act. Demands were made for the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22. Personal hearing notices were also issued. The petitioner submitted replies in response to the notices and also attended the personal hearing held on 03.10.2023. Not satisfied with the stand of the petitioner, the impugned orders were passed levying tax, interest and penalty. Challenging the same, these writ petitions have been filed.

2.As against an order passed under Section 74 of the Act, the assessee has the remedy of appeal. But an appeal has to be filed within three months as per Section 107 of the Act. There is provision for condoning the delay of 30 days. If within this outer time limit, an appeal is not filed, the appellate authority would not be competent to entertain the appeal. The petitioner submits before this Court that the impugned orders were not served on them and that they were only uploaded in the GSTN Portal. Since the petitioner was in the dark, he missed the time line for filing the appeals. The petitioner wants this Court to entertain the challenge to the impugned orders in writ proceedings straightaway. The writ prayer appears to have been erroneously worded. The actual relief which the petitioner wants is probably a passport to move the appellate authority.

3.The stand of the respondents is that since the impugned orders had been uploaded in the portal, the clock would start ticking from the said date. The learned Additional Government Pleader took me through the statutory scheme, particularly, Section 169 of the Act r/w.Rule 142. Relying on a catena of case-laws, he contended that the writ petitioner having missed the bus, can only rue their fate and that the hands of this Court are totally tied.

4.I carefully considered the rival contentions. The point for determination is whether uploading the impugned order in the GSTN portal alone is sufficient and whether the limitation for filing appeal under Section 107 of the Act would start running from the date of uploading.

5.The relevant provisions are Section 169 of the Act and Rule 142 of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. They read as follows :

“169. Service of notice in certain circumstances.— (1) Any decision, order, summons, notice or other communication under this Act or the rules made thereunder shall be served by any one of the following methods, namely—

(a) by giving or tendering it directly or by a messenger including a courier to the addressee or the taxable person or to his manager or authorised representative or an advocate or a tax practitioner holding authority to appear in the proceedings on behalf of the taxable person or to a person regularly employed by him in connection with the business, or to any adult member of family residing with the taxable person; or (b) by registered post or speed post or courier with acknowledgement due, to the person for whom it is intended or his authorised representative, if any, at his last known place of business or residence; or (c) by sending a communication to his e-mail address provided at the time of registration or as amended from time to time; or (d) by making it available on the common portal; or (e) by publication in a news