In a recent ruling, the Allahabad High Court said that Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) notices must be served through alternative means once a taxpayer’s registration has been cancelled, and merely uploading the notice on the GST portal is insufficient.
In this matter, a writ petition filed by a business, M/s Ahs Steels, whose GST registration had been cancelled on March 18, 2019, after which no business activities were conducted. Later on, an order under Section 73 of the Uttar Pradesh GST Act, 2017 was passed without serving the notices, which is indeed a violation of Natural Justice Principles.
Complete Draft Replies of GST ITC Related Notices, Click Here
The case centred on the fact that a show-cause notice regarding alleged tax liabilities had been uploaded on the GST portal after the cancellation of the petitioner’s registration, leading to an order being passed without direct communication to the business owner.
The Court, hearing arguments from both sides, held that once a taxpayer’s registration is cancelled, they are no longer obligated to monitor the GST portal for notices. Therefore, it is essential for authorities to serve notices via alternative methods, such as physical delivery or email, to ensure compliance with the principles of natural justice. The petitioner’s counsel referred to a previous judgment by the Court in M/s Katyal Industries v. State of U.P., which reinforced this stance.
Complete Draft Replies of GST ITC Related Notices, Click Here
In the case of Katyal Industries, the Allahabad High Court, dealing with a similar situation, directed the petitioner to treat the GST demand order itself to be the notice.
Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Vipin Chandra Dixit found that the failure to serve the notice by alternative means violated the principles of natural justice, leading to the cancellation of the impugned order. Th bench directed the tax authorities to issue a fresh notice and proceed in accordance with the law.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
