Delhi HC Awaits Supreme Court Verdict on GST Notifications; Allows Appeal Against Rs. 41 Lakh Demand

Markex Branding got a tax demand of Rs. 41 lakh for the financial year 2018-19. The company, dissatisfied with the GST demand order, approached the Delhi High Court, challenging the impugned order and the GST notifications supporting the demand. However, the court ruled that we will not decide on this matter now, as the Supreme Court is currently deciding on the same issue. But, because Markex missed their personal hearing, the order stays valid for now. Still, the Court gave them a chance to file an appeal by November 30, 2025.

The present writ petition (W.P.(C) 15201/2025), dated October 06, 2025, has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by a company named M/s Markex Branding Solutions Private Limited (petitioner) against the DGST Commissioner & Ors. (respondents) In the Delhi High Court before the benches comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain. The hearing was done in both online and offline modes.

The petition was filed to challenge an order dated April 25, 2024, passed by the office of Sales Tax Officer Class II/AVATO, Delhi. The impugned order raised a GST demand amounting to Rs. 4,121,366. Further challenged an earlier Notification No. 56/2023-Central Tax dated December 28, 2023 and Notification No. 56/2023 State Tax dated July 11, 2024.

The Court noted that these same notifications are already under challenge in several High Courts (including Allahabad High Court, Patna High Court, Guwahati High Court and Telangana High Court) and before the Supreme Court in the case titled M/s HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV vs Assistant Commissioner of State Tax & Ors (SLP No. 4240/2025). The Supreme Court is deciding whether the government was right in extending the deadline for GST proceedings under Section 168A by issuing these notifications.

Since this matter has now reached the apex court, all the other high courts, including Punjab and Haryana, Bombay, and Delhi, are awaiting the SC’s decision to announce their decision.

In the present case of Markex Branding, a show cause notice (SCN) dated December 9, 2023, was issued to the company. The company replied to the notice on January 09, 2024. Later, a reminder was also uploaded on March 01, 2024. But the company did not appear for the personal hearing on the set date. Thereafter, the department issued a final order dated April 25, 2024, imposing a tax demand of Rs. 4,121,366.

However, in order to ensure fairness, the Court allowed the petitioner to file an appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act and gave time till November 30, 2025, along with the required pre-deposit. Access the GST portal within one week to download the necessary documents and have the appeal decided on merits, not rejected for delay.

The Court clarified that the question of the validity of the notifications will remain open, to be decided after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the pending case and in W.P.(C) 9214/2024 – Engineers India Ltd. v. Union of India.

In the final order, the writ petition was disposed of with liberty to appeal, and all pending applications were closed.