The Madras High Court quashed the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) demand order as the adjournment request of the petitioner was disregarded and no reasonable opportunity was provided. Thus, the court was deemed to interfere with the order.
The Petitioner, Sri Nallamal Steels received show cause notices dated 05.02.2024 concerning various financial years, except for 2021-2022, with a deadline for reply by 07.02.2024. Despite the petitioner’s request for an adjournment, the impugned orders were issued without consideration.
Counsel for the petitioner highlighted the reply dated 08.02.2024, which requested an adjournment due to the illness of the authorised representative. This request was ignored, and orders were passed on the same day. Regarding the financial year 2021-2022, where a show cause notice dated 18.12.2023 was issued, the petitioner’s reply dated 21.12.2023 was disregarded.
Mr. V. Prashanth Kiran, Government Advocate, noted that the adjournment request was made only for the financial year 2021-2022 and not for other years.
The High Court noted that, for financial years 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021, where show cause notices were issued on 05.02.2024, and orders were passed on 08.02.2024, it is evident that a reasonable opportunity was not provided to the petitioner, especially considering the adjournment request dated 08.02.2024. Similarly, for the financial year 2021-2022, where the petitioner’s reply to the show cause notice dated 18.12.2023 was disregarded, the order cannot be sustained.
For the above reasons, a Single bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy set aside the impugned order and the matter was remanded for reconsideration. The petitioner is granted two weeks to submit replies to the respective show cause notices. Upon receipt, the respondent is directed to provide a reasonable opportunity to the petitioner, including a personal hearing, and issue fresh orders within three months. The writ petition was disposed accordingly.
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