GST Notice Upload Mode Must be as Per General Practice: Calcutta HC Orders Appeal Without Extra Pre-Deposit [Read Order]

The Calcutta High Court has held that while uploading a notice on the GST ( Goodsand Services Tax ) portal is deemed valid service under Section 169 of the GST Act, the mode and manner of such upload must follow general practice.

The petitioners, Shashi Kant Jaiswal & Anr challenged both a demand order under Section 73 of the GST Act for FY 2020-21 and the subsequent attachment of their bank account under GST Section 79(1)(c).

The petitioners claimed they had no knowledge of the show cause proceedings as the notice was uploaded under the “View Additional Notices and Orders” tab, rather than the usual “View Notices and Orders” section.

Consequently, they could not reply to the notice, nor file an appeal against the demand order dated 4 February 2025. They only became aware after ₹75,354 was debited from their electronic credit ledger, followed by a bank account attachment notice.

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Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury observed that while the statute deems portal upload as valid service, the “mode and manner” must be consistent with established practice, and it was “unusual” to place a notice in the additional notices tab.

The court, considering the possibility that the petitioners genuinely did not notice the proceedings, refuses to go into the question of proper service. Instead, noting that ₹75,354 had already been debited, the Court allowed the petitioners to file an appeal against the demand order without any further pre-deposit.

The deducted amount would remain credited to the proceedings. The appellate authority was directed to hear the matter on merits, accept documents and defences, and decide accordingly without any extra pre-deposit.

Additionally, the bench quashed the bank account attachment order, stating that in the given facts it could not be sustained.

The petitioners had to file the appeal within the time limit provided in order for the tax department to enforce the initial demand, hence the benefit of this order was contingent upon that.

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