GST: Allahabad HC Quashes Assessment for Notice Uploaded on Wrong GST Portal Tab

The current writ petition (Writ Tax No. 1289 of 2025) has been filed by a company named M/s Arya Radio (petitioner) against the State of Uttar Pradesh and another (respondent) in the Allahabad High Court before a Division Bench comprising Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Praveen Kumar Giri. The petitioner here is challenging a tax demand order dated July 28, 2023, passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Sector-10, Varanasi, under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which deals with situations where the tax has not been paid or has been short-paid without any intent to defraud. The order relates to the financial year 2017-18.

The petitioner argued in the high court that the show-cause notices were not communicated to them properly. They were uploaded under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab on the GST portal and not under the standard and expected tab called “View Notices and Orders.” They were not aware of both the notices and also about the final order; as a result, they could neither reply to notices nor challenge the order timely manner, nor could they attend the proceedings.

The petitioner also cited a previous judgment titled Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P., decided on July 22, 2024 (Writ Tax No. 855 of 2024). This case was also related to the issue where the notices were only uploaded under the wrong tab of the GST portal; therefore, the petitioner was not aware of it and could not timely reply to it. In that case, the High Court ruled that uploading notices under an incorrect tab on the portal creates confusion and prevents the taxpayer from exercising their legal rights. Further, the GST system doesn’t allow the tax officer to choose how the notice appears on the portal; it is managed by a separate entity called the GSTN. Finally, ruled that since there was no default of the petitioner, the case was referred to the tax department for fresh action after proper notice. The respondent in the Arya Radio case agreed that the notices were indeed uploaded under the wrong tab, and the situation is similar to the Ola Fleet case. Hence, the same ruling applies here, too.

When the court analysed both sides, it agreed with the arguments of the petitioner and considered the Ola Fleet precedent. In the final ruling, the court quashed the order dated July 28, 2023, issued by the Deputy Commissioner and remanded the case to the Assessing Officer (AO) for fresh reconsideration. Directed the AO to this time, ensure that the notice is uploaded properly under the correct tab and give the petitioner at least 15 clear days to respond. After that, conduct the proceedings and issue a fresh, reasoned, and speaking order within one month of serving the notice.