GST: High Court Quashes Ex- Parte Order passed for GSTR-3B and 26AS mis-match

The Petitioner, a work contractor, was issued notice under section 73 of the GST Act for the financial year 2018-19, which pointed out the mismatch between the values shown in the petitioner’s GSTR-3B returns and the income details in Form 26AS. The firm claimed that he did not know about the notices, as the notice was uploaded in the “Additional Notice and Order“ tab. This resulted in passing an ex parte order dated 28.04.2024 imposing tax, penalty and interest on the petitioner.

The petitioner filed an appeal against the order, along with a delay condonation application, but the same was rejected in the order dated 21.11.2025. Therefore, the petitioner approached the Allahabad High Court.

The petitioner submitted that the GST authorities have initiated the proceedings for the services that were given before the GST regime. The petitioner had worked for the Jal Nigam and claimed that the Jal Nigam had deducted 4% VAT while making the payment to the petitioner for the A.Y. 2015-16 and 2016-17. The petitioner also submitted the certificate issued by the Jal Nigam to support his claim.

After checking the records summoned by the Court, the High Court observed that the contracts were executed before the GST regime. The Court held that the tax authorities had no jurisdiction to initiate proceedings under Section 73 for a period before the implementation of GST. Therefore, the orders were quashed and the Court directed that any amount deposited by the petitioner be refunded with interest within one month of submitting a certified copy of the judgment.