GST Order Invalid if SCN Issued Only via Portal After Registration Cancellation: Allahabad HC [Read Order]

Kesarwani Enterprises filed a writ petition challenging a GST assessment order passed for the period April 2018 to March 2019. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the firm’s GST registration had been cancelled on 02.01.2021 with effect from the same date and was never revived.

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The counsel argued that the registration was cancelled and the petitioner was not legally required to check the GST portal for any notices and that no physical or offline notice was ever served before passing the assessment order, which violated principles of natural justice.

The state counsel argued that the show cause notice had been issued through the GST portal according to the procedure under the GST Act.

The division bench comprising Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Praveen Kumar Giri observed that the petitioner’s GST registration had been cancelled and was never revived, and that the revenue did not claim that any physical notice was issued.

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The court observed that the petitioner was not required to check the GST portal after the cancellation of its registration and could not have responded to the show cause notice issued only through the portal.

The court found that the failure to serve a physical notice deprived the petitioner of the opportunity to respond, breaching the rules of natural justice.

The court held that the GST assessment order was invalid for this reason. The court quashed the assessment order and directed the petitioner to submit a reply to the show cause notice within four weeks, with the authorities required to pass a fresh order after a personal hearing within three months. The writ petition was allowed.

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