No Two Assessment Orders for the Same Tax Period Can Operate Simultaneously: Orissa HC Invalidates Ex Parte Order [Read Order]
Orissa High Court quashes ex parte GST assessment, ruling that only one assessment order can exist for the same tax period.
Exparte - order - Taxscan
Exparte - order - Taxscan
In a recent ruling, the Orissa High Court held that two GST ( Goods and Services Tax ) assessment orders for the same tax period cannot operate at the same time and set aside an ex parte assessment order issued without notice to the taxpayer. The court directed that the valid order passed on merits by the Nashik Commissionerate should stand.
Palem Ashok Reddy, a contractor from Hyderabad, filed a writ petition challenging an ex parte assessment order passed by the GST and Central Excise Commissionerate, Rourkela. The dispute arose when the Rourkela Commissionerate issued a service tax demand order on 02.07.2024 for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17, even though the Nashik Commissionerate had already passed an assessment order for the same period on 12.07.2024 after hearing the petitioner.
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The petitioner argued that he had not received any notice from the Rourkela office before the ex parte order was passed, which was later confirmed by postal records showing that the notices could not be served as the addressee could not be located. He argued that only one assessment order can be in force for a particular period and that the order passed by Nashik should prevail, as it was made after considering his submissions.
The GST department’s counsel argued that the Rourkela Commissionerate had issued notices and, when the petitioner did not appear, proceeded to pass the ex parte order. However, during the hearing, the department’s counsel admitted that the notices could not be served, and there were two orders for the same tax period.
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A division bench led by Chief Justice Harish Tandon observed that when two assessment orders exist for the same period, the one made after providing an opportunity for a hearing and on the merits of the case should prevail. The court observed that the ex parte order passed without notice was without jurisdiction and could not stand.
The court quashed the ex parte assessment order issued by the Rourkela Commissionerate and directed that the parties act according to the Nashik Commissionerate’s assessment order, which had already attained finality. The writ petition was allowed.
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