Delhi HC Remands Ex-Parte GST Demand as Petitioner Claimed Inability to Access Portal, Imposes ₹10K Costs Payable to STBA [Read Order]
The Bench also noted that the impugned order was non-speaking and passed without due process.
The Delhi High Court recently remanded an ex-parte demand order issued under the Goods and Services Tax regime after noting that the assessee had not been afforded an adequate opportunity to respond to the show cause notice (SCN) as the portal was inaccessible to them.
The decision was given by the High Court against a civil writ petition filed by M/s Walsons Services Pvt. Ltd., impugning an order passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Ward 201, Zone-11, Delhi on 2 August, 2024, by which the department raised a demand of ₹44,84,321 as tax and ₹86,63,462 in total, including interest and penalty, for the FY 2019–20.
According to the record, the department had issued a SCN on 29 May 2024, followed by a reminder on 5 July 2024, by which a personal hearing was fixed for 15 July. The petitioner failed to respond to the SCN or attend the hearing, asserting that the communication was missed due to an inadvertent oversight by its previous consultant and that the petitioner lacked direct access to the GST portal.
However, the adjudicating authority thereafter passed an ex-parte order confirming the proposed demand.
The petitioner also challenged the vires of the following GST notifications:
Notification No. 9/2023- Central Tax dated 31st March, 2023;
Notification No. 56/2023- Central Tax dated 28th December, 2023;
Notification No. 9/2023- State Tax dated 22nd June, 2023;
Notification No. 56/2023- State Tax dated 11th July, 2024
The validity of the above notifications are already pending for adjudication by the Supreme Court in M/s HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV v. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax & Ors.
Akshay Allagh appeared for the petitioner, while Akshay Amritanshu, Drishti Rawal, Mayur Goyal and Sarthak Srivastava represented the department. Ms. Vaishali Gupta and Ms. Ishika Baheti appeared for the Government of Delhi.
The Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain relied on an earlier decision of the Delhi High Court in Sugandha Enterprises through its Proprietor Devender Kumar Singh V. Commissioner Delhi Goods And Service Tax And Others (2025), to observe that when a taxpayer is not afforded an effective opportunity to reply or be heard, the principles of natural justice mandates that a fresh hearing be conducted.
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The Bench further noted that the impugned order was non-speaking and passed without due process.
Accordingly, the High Court set aside the ex-parte order and remanded the matter to the Adjudicating Authority, permitting the petitioner to file its reply to the SCN by 15 December 2025. The authority was directed to grant a personal hearing and issue notice via both registered email and mobile. The Court also ordered the Directorate of GST to restore portal access within one week to enable the petitioner’s compliance.
The remand was made subject to payment of ₹10,000 as costs to the Sales Tax Bar Association, New Delhi. However, the Bench clarified that the issue concerning the validity of the GST notifications remains open, subject to the Supreme Court decision in HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV (supra).
The petition was accordingly disposed of.
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