This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been preferred by the petitioner against the order dated 17.08.2021 (Annexure P/2) passed by the appellate authority and Joint Commissioner of Sales Tax, Indore whereby the appeal preferred by it against the order dated 02.01.2019 passed by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax cancelling his registration of Goods and Services Tax has been dismissed as barred by time.

02. An order Annexure P/1 dated 19.12.2018 was passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax cancelling the registration of petitioner under the G.S.T. Act. Aggrieved by the said order petitioner preferred an appeal before the appellate authority on 11.08.2021 which has been dismissed by observing that as per Section 107 (1) of the Act, the appeal can be preferred within a period of three months and as per Section 107(4) the appellate authority has the power to condoned the delay of one month. Since appeal has been preferred by the petitioner after two years and seven months from the date of passing of the order, the same is barred by time.

03. A perusal of the relevant provisions of Section 107 may be necessary which are as under :

(1) Any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act or the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act by an adjudicating authority may appeal to such Appellate Authority as may be prescribed within three months from the date on which the said decision or order is communicated to such person.

(4) The Appellate Authority may, if he is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the aforesaid period of three months or six months, as the case may be, allow it to be presented within a further period of one month.

04. As per section 107 (1), the appeal could be preferred within a period of three months. The petitioner has contended that no notice was issued to him by the Deputy Commissioner Sales Tax. In any case no such notice was served upon him and he acquired knowledge of the fact of passing of the order from other source hence could not prefer the appeal within time. The period of limitation for preferring the appeal as per Section 107 (1) is three months from the date on which the decision or order is communicated such person. The appeal preferred by the petitioner has been dismissed by merely observing that the same has been preferred after a period of three months from the date of passing of the order which reason cannot be sustained since appeal could be preferred within three months from the date on which the order was communicated.

05. There is no material available on record to establish as to when the order passed by the Deputy Commissioner Sales Tax was communicated to the petitioner. That was the crucial fact for being ascertained as it would be that date from which the period of limitation for preferring the appeal would have commend.

06. Since the aforesaid aspect of the matter has not been considered by the appellate authority, the impugned order cannot be sustained and is consequently set aside. The matter is remanded back to the appellate authority Joint Commissioner of Sales Tax, Indore for reconsideration of the matter and decision afresh in accordance with law and in view of the observation as made herein above.

07. With the aforesaid direction, the petition is allowed and disposed off.