GST SCN Uploaded Under 'Additional Notices and Orders' Tab Denies Fair Opportunity: Calcutta HC Allows Petitioner to File Reply, Sets Aside Adjudication Order [Read Order]
: The Calcutta High Court has set aside an adjudication order passed under the GST Act after observing that the Show Cause Notice (SCN) was merely uploaded on the portal under the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab, which effectively denied the petitioner the opportunity to respond.
![GST SCN Uploaded Under Additional Notices and Orders Tab Denies Fair Opportunity: Calcutta HC Allows Petitioner to File Reply, Sets Aside Adjudication Order [Read Order]](https://images.taxscan.in/h-upload/2026/06/14/2140268-gst-scn-additional-notices-and-orders-tab-denies-fair-opportunity-calcutta-hc-allows-petitioner-reply-adjudication-order-taxscan.webp "GST SCN Uploaded Under Additional Notices and Orders Tab Denies Fair Opportunity: Calcutta HC Allows Petitioner to File Reply, Sets Aside Adjudication Order [Read Order]")
The Calcutta High Court has set aside a GST adjudication order on the grounds of procedural fairness, ruling that the revenue department cannot rely on an order passed ex-parte when the Show Cause Notice (SCN) was not properly communicated to the taxpayer. The writ petition, filed by Sunil Batra, challenged the legality of an order dated October 9, 2025, passed under Section...
The Calcutta High Court has set aside a GST adjudication order on the grounds of procedural fairness, ruling that the revenue department cannot rely on an order passed ex-parte when the Show Cause Notice (SCN) was not properly communicated to the taxpayer.
The writ petition, filed by Sunil Batra, challenged the legality of an order dated October 9, 2025, passed under Section 107 of the WBGST/CGST Act. The petitioner contended that the adjudicating authority had confirmed a demand based on an SCN issued in Form DRC-01 dated December 24, 2023. However, the petitioner was unaware of this notice and the subsequent adjudication order dated March 12, 2024, until a newly appointed accountant discovered them on the GST portal.
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The Court was informed that the intimation regarding the SCN was uploaded under the "Additional Notice and Orders" tab on the GST portal. The petitioner argued that due to this placement, he missed the notification and consequently failed to file a reply.
Justice Smita Das De held that uploading a notice in a less-visible tab on the portal without specific intimation deprives the assessee of a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The court accepted the petitioner's submission that the failure to respond was not willful but due to a lack of proper intimation.
"Since the petitioner has not been able to receive the show cause notice and file a reply to the same, the petitioner must be given an opportunity to do so," the Court observed.
The Court set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter back to the adjudicating authority. The petitioner has been directed to file a reply to the SCN within four weeks. The authority is then required to consider the reply and pass a reasoned order within eight weeks after providing an opportunity for a hearing. This judgment underscores the necessity for tax authorities to ensure actual communication of notices, rather than merely uploading them to obscure sections of the digital portal.
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