HC Orders Reconsideration After Petitioner Missed GST Notice in ‘Additional Notices’ Tab

Abhay Kumar Singh (Petitioner) approached the High Court of Delhi against the Goods and Services Tax Officer, challenging the impugned Show Cause Notice order dated December 12, 2025.

The assessee received an impugned demand order dated April 2, 2024 by the Sales Tax Officer, Delhi, for the tax period from April 2018 to March 2019. However, the assessee believes that there is a duplication in the impugned SCN in respect of a sum of Rs. 16,35,458 which has been demanded under two separate heads and the SNC was uploaded under the ‘Additional Notices Tab’, which was not visible to him, so he couldn’t respond or attend hearings.

The assessee approached the Delhi High court, where the assessee argued that asking for the same money two times is not fair or acceptable.

During the hearing, Assessee’s lawyer submitted that the petitioner filed their returns on January 29, 2020, which was well before the deadline of November 30, 2021. However, the notices were uploaded under the ‘Additional Notices Tab’, which the Petitioner did not see. Because of this, the Petitioner didn’t get a chance to respond or attend a personal hearing. Assessee’s lawyer further added that the order was made without giving the Petitioner a fair opportunity to explain their side of the case.

Considering the facts, the court added that the Petitioner filed their returns on January 29, 2020, which was well before the deadline of November 30, 2021. It is also pointed out that the notice and reminder were uploaded under the “Additional Notices” section, which the Petitioner could not see. Because of this, the Petitioner was not able to respond or attend a personal hearing. As a result, the order was made without giving the Petitioner a fair chance to defend their case.

Regarding the issue about the “Additional Notices Tab”, in a similar case (Neelgiri Machinery vs. Commissioner of Delhi GST), the Court had found that when the Show Cause Notice (SCN) was uploaded on this “Additional Notices Tab”, the matter needed to be sent back for reconsideration.

As a result, considering the fact that the petitioner did not get a proper opportunity to be heard, the matter deserves to be remanded back to the concerned adjudicating authority. The Petitioner is granted time until January 31, 2026 to submit a new reply to the notice they received (SCN). After they submit this reply, the Adjudicating Authority will send them a notice to come in for a personal hearing.