Delhi High Court Quashes GST Order as SCN Uploaded Under ‘Additional Notices’ Tab

The Delhi High Court offered relief to a company by setting aside ex parte orders issued by the GST department. The court directed the department to provide a personal hearing to the company.

The petitioner, Jarosniv Exports Pvt. Ltd., filed two petitions before the Delhi High Court challenging the orders passed by the sales tax officer for the financial years 2017-18 and 2019-20.

The GST department allegedly uploaded the show cause notice under the “Additional Notices” tab on the GST Portal, due to which the company remained unaware of the notice. Since the company could not file its reply to the notice, the tax authority issued an ex parte order against the company.

Before the High Court, the petitioner company challenged the mode of uploading the show cause notice. The company argued that both the show cause notices were uploaded on the “Additional Notices” tab on the GST portal. The company did not know about the notice, and the department issued an ex parte order. Due to this, the company could not present its side effectively.

The court examined the case and observed that in similar cases, the court had remanded the matter. The court also noted that the GST portal was updated after January 16th, 2024, so that the Additional Notices Tab could be visible/accessible. However, to ensure justice, the court believed that the petitioner company should be given another fair chance to explain its side.

Accordingly, the court set aside both the orders and directed the company to file its reply within four weeks, after which the department must give an opportunity for a personal hearing. The hearing notices were directed to be sent to the petitioner at the registered email and mobile number.