SCN missed under ‘Additional Notices’ tab on GST portal due to Visibility Issue: Delhi HC Sets Aside Order [Read Order]

The Delhi High Court,set aside the order after the petitioner missed the Goods and Service Tax(GST) show cause notice uploaded under the ‘Additional Notices’ tab due to a visibility issue, and directed the authority to grant a fresh opportunity to file a reply and be heard.

Tanishka Steel,petitioner-assessee,had filed a petition challenging a show cause notice dated 28th May, 2024, and the order dated 27th August, 2024, both issued by the GST authorities in Delhi for the financial year 2019–20.

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The petition also challenged the validity of Notification Nos. 9/2023 and 56/2023 issued under the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act. The petitioner argued that these notifications were issued without proper approval from the GST Council, as required under Section 168A of the Act. While Notification No. 9 had prior approval, Notification No. 56 was allegedly ratified only after its issuance.

The Court noted that the validity of these notifications was already being considered in a batch of petitions led by DJST Traders Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India, and that different High Courts had taken conflicting views. The matter was also pending before the Supreme Court in SLP No. 4240/2025, where notice had been issued on 21st February, 2025.

The bench observed that in many cases, including the petitioner’s, the final orders were passed without giving an opportunity for reply or personal hearing. It acknowledged that the issue involved several categories of cases and that relief could be considered depending on individual facts, without going into the validity of the notifications at this stage.

On 23rd April, 2025, the Court disposed of similar matters while noting that the question of validity would be subject to the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings.

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In this case, the assessee stated that the show cause notice dated 28th May, 2024, was uploaded under the ‘Additional Notices’ tab and was not seen, which led to no reply being filed. As a result, the final order was passed without giving a chance to respond.

The department, however, submitted that the notice was issued after 16th January, 2024, by which time the portal had been fixed to ensure all notices were visible.

The division bench comprising Justice Prathiba M.Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta heard both parties and noted that a similar issue had been addressed in the Neelgiri Machinery case, where the show cause notice was uploaded under the ‘Additional Notices’ tab and not seen by the petitioner. In that case, the matter was remanded to allow a proper hearing.

Referring to earlier orders in Satish Chand Mittal and Anant Wire Industries, the Court noted that in all such cases, the matters were sent back to the Adjudicating Authority (AA)to ensure the petitioners got a fair chance to reply.

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Though the GST portal was updated after 16th January 2024 to make the ‘Additional Notices’ tab visible, the Court observed that the petitioner in the present case did not get a proper opportunity to respond. No reply had been filed to the show cause notice, and the order was passed without a hearing.

The bench set aside the impugned order and allowed the petitioner time till 10th July 2025 to file a reply. It directed the AA to issue a personal hearing notice, which must be sent via email and mobile. The reply and submissions during the hearing were to be considered before passing a fresh order.

The Court clarified that the validity of the notifications challenged by the petitioner was left open and would depend on the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision in S.L.P No. 4240/2025. All rights and remedies of the parties were also kept open.

The writ petition was disposed of accordingly.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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