GST: HC Cancels Order Passed Without Proper Hearing
GST: HC Cancels Order Passed Without Proper Hearing
The petitioner, M/s Sri Pannariamman Traders, received a show cause notice, which it could not reply to, and the tax officer passed a final order to the petitioner dated 23.12.2024.
What did Petitioner’s Learned Counsel Submit?
Learned Council for the petitioner submitted that all notices and communications were uploaded on the GST portal under the “View Additional Notices and Orders” column. As the notices were only issued on the portal and no copies were served in physical form, the petitioner was not aware of them. Due to this, the tax officer passed the final orders without giving a chance to the petitioner for a personal hearing.
Additionally, the council submitted that the petitioner is willing to deposit Rs 2,00,000 of the disputed tax amount to the state tax officer. He requests the court to give the petitioner a chance to present themself and cancel the final order.
Madras High Court Decision
The Madras High Court observed that the GST notices were uploaded on the GST portal. Because of this, the petitioner was unaware of the show-cause notice. The state officer did not give a chance for a personal hearing before passing the final order, which violated the principles of natural justice.
The court stated that uploading notices on the GST portal is a sufficient service, but not enough when there is no response from the taxpayer. The tax officer should have applied his mind and explored other ways for sending notices as allowed under Section 169 of the GST Act.
Therefore, the court ruled in favour of the petitioner and allowed the writ petition. The court set aside the final order dated 23.12.2024 on the condition that the petitioner will pay Rs 2 lakh of the disputed tax amount to the tax officer. The case is remanded back to the State Tax Officer for fresh consideration. The court further gave the following instructions:
- The petitioner must file a reply/objection with supporting documents within 3 weeks of payment.
- The GST officer must then issue a 14-day notice for a personal hearing and pass a fresh order after hearing the petitioner’s side.