Income Tax Dept. has no Material to Prove Existence of Order under “View Notices and Orders” on Portal: Allahabad HC Allows Assessee to Treat SCN as Final Notice [Read Order]

The Allahabad High Court recently granted relief to an assessee, ruling that the Income Tax Department had no material to establish that the impugned assessment order was actually available under the “view notices and orders” tab on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) portal at the disposal of the Assessee.

Planning smarter for FY 2025–26? Don’t miss this trusted guide used by thousands of tax professionals & CA students! Click here 

A writ petition was filed by M/s Shri Bala Ji Stone Works, seeking quashal of an impugned order dated September 21, 2022 that was passed by the Respondent including the State of U.P. and the Revenue department.

The central issue purported by the petitioner was that the order in question was not displayed under the “view notices and orders” tab, but was instead reflected only under the “additional notice and orders” section on the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) portal.

It was the claim of the petitioner that such an incident impeded their ability to seek appropriate remedies within the prescribed limitation period. The Petitioner, represented by Divya Prakash Tripathi, Ravi Pratap Singh and Tanmay Sadh referenced to an earlier order of the same court in M/s Mohini Traders vs. State of U.P. and Another (Writ Tax No. 551 of 2023).

The Standing Counsel appearing for the Revenue submitted that the assessing officer (AO) had no control over the display settings of the portal and that the technical configuration of how and where the order appeared was governed by the GST Network and not by the revenue authorities.

It was further contended that the officer could in no instance be held responsible for any alleged technical error in the functioning of the portal.

The Division Bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Praveen Kumar Giri observed that the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of doubt as no material was produced by the department to counter the claim that the order was absent from the “view notices and orders” tab.

The Bench further noted that it was ambiguous whether all replies and annexures submitted by the assessee had been duly displayed to and considered by the assessing officer.

Noting that the entire disputed amount was already deposited with the State Government and that no outstanding demand remained, the Court concluded that no useful purpose would be served by keeping the petition pending or by keeping this petition pending or calling for a counter affidavit or even relegating the petitioner to the available statutory remedy.

Consequently, the Allahabad High Court disposed of the petition with directions that the assessee may treat the impugned order as the final notice and submit their written reply within two weeks.

Thereupon the AO is to issue a fresh notice with at least fifteen days’ clear notice to the assessee. The assessee was directed to appear on the stipulated date and the AO may later pass a reasoned and speaking order within one month from the date of service of such notice.

Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates