GST Demand Sent Back to Statutory Appeal as Supreme Court Weighs Validity of Limitation Extensions

The petitioner, I Money Wallet Private Limited, challenged a GST demand order dated 23 December 2023 passed by the Sales Tax Officer, Delhi, arising from a show cause notice issued on 23 September 2023 for FY 2017-18. Alongside the demand, the petitioner also questioned the validity of various Central and State GST notifications extending limitation periods.

The petitioner contended that the show cause notice and adjudication order were uploaded in the “additional notices” tab on the GST portal, resulting in a lack of effective notice and denial of opportunity to file a reply or attend a personal hearing. The adjudication order was passed ex parte, increasing the tax demand and penalties.

Main Issue: Whether the High Court should entertain a writ petition challenging GST demand orders and limitation-extension notifications when the core issue is pending before the Supreme Court, and whether the petitioner deserved an opportunity to pursue statutory appellate remedies despite delay.

HC’s Order: The Hon’ble High Court declined to examine the merits of the GST demand or the validity of the impugned notifications, noting that the issue is already pending before the Supreme Court. The Court did not accept the petitioner’s explanation regarding non-access to notices uploaded in the “additional notices” tab, but directed that access to the GST portal be provided within one week to enable downloading of necessary documents.

The Court ordered the petitioner to avail a statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017. The Court granted liberty to file an appeal along with the requisite pre-deposit and directed that if the appeal is filed by 31 January 2026, it shall not be rejected on limitation. The writ petition was thus disposed of.

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