High Court Sets Aside Order as Show Cause Notice Uploaded on ‘Additional Notices Tab’
High Court Sets Aside Order as Show Cause Notice Uploaded on ‘Additional Notices Tab’
The Delhi High Court has recently granted relief to a petitioner company by setting aside the order because the show cause notice issued before the order was uploaded on the ‘Additional Notices Tab’, and the company was unaware.
The petitioner, Balaji Freight Carriers Pvt Ltd, received an order dated 13.12.2024 from the sales tax officer, demanding over Rs 27 lakh. Before receiving the order, the petitioner received a show cause notice dated 23.09.2023 for the FY 2017-18. The petitioner filed a petition challenging this show cause notice, the order, and also two notifications, Notification No.9/2023-Central Tax dated 31st December, 2023 and Notification No.56/2023-Central Tax dated 28th December, 2023, before the Delhi High Court. The petitioner requested the High Court to set aside these orders and also set aside a notice dated 18.07.2025, issued to the Bank Manager, HDFC Bank, regarding the attachment of the bank account of the Petitioner.
As per the petitioner, the show cause notice was uploaded on the ‘Additional Notices Tab‘. Due to this, the petitioner was unaware of this show cause notice and failed to respond to it. This resulted in passing the final order. The petitioner claimed that this order was passed without giving an opportunity to challenge the show-cause notice.
The bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain observed the decision passed in the case of ‘Neelgiri Machinery through its Proprietor Mr Anil Kumar V. Commissioner Delhi Goods And Service Tax And Others‘, which ruled on the case issue. It was noted that the Additional Notices Tab was made visible in the GST portal after 16th January 2024, and the SCN was issued before that (23.09.2023). Also, the petitioner was not given any opportunity for a personal hearing before the final order. Therefore, the court set aside the order dated 13.12.2024 and remanded the matter to the Adjudicating Authority. The court also set aside the notice dated 18.07.2025 issued to the Bank Manager, on the condition that the petitioner must maintain the minimum balance of approximately Rs 7 lakhs in the account.
The court also directed the Adjudicating Authority to issue a notice for a personal hearing to the Petitioner and pass a fresh order after considering the reply of the Petitioner. It was directed by the court to allow the petitioner access to the GST portal within one week to submit the reply and to access the notices and documents.
The validity of the two Notifications challenged by the petitioner is left open for determination by the Supreme Court.