GST Order Passed Without Proper Service of Notice is Invalid and Illegal: High Court
GST Order Passed Without Proper Service of Notice is Invalid and Illegal: High Court
The applicant, Shamlal Enterprises, filed a petition challenging a tax order received from the Deputy State Tax Officer, Hasthampatty Circle, Salem, on the GST portal. The petitioner was unaware of this notice.
Petitioner’s Arguments
The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that all the notices and communications were received on the GST portal under the column “View Additional Notices and Orders“. Since the notice was uploaded on the GST portal and no physical copies of the notices were issued to the petitioner, they could not file their reply within the time period. This resulted in the tax officer passing the final order without giving any chance to the petitioner for a personal hearing.
The counsel also submitted that if given a chance, the petitioner was willing to submit 25% of the disputed tax amount to the tax officer.
Madras HC Observation
The high court observed that the show cause notice was only sent on the GST portal and not in physical form, due to which the petitioner failed to submit their reply.
Issuing notice on the portal is sufficient service, but it is not effective when the officer does not get any response from the petitioner. The officer should have used his mind and figured out other ways to send notices prescribed in Section 169(1) of the Act, preferably by way of RPAD.
The court further stated that just sending notices without getting any response just wastes the time of the officer, the Appellate Authority and the court.
Final Decision Made by Madras HC
The Court set aside the tax officer’s order and gave a new opportunity to Shamlal Enterprises on the condition that the petitioner shall pay 25% of the disputed tax amount within 4 weeks. The court gave the following directions:
- The petitioner must file their reply with supporting documents within 3 weeks after payment.
- The officer must issue 14 days’ notice for a personal hearing and must listen to the company and pass a fresh order based on the facts.