High Court Remands GST Demand Due to Ex-Parte Adjudication; Validity of Time-Extension Notifications Left Open

The petitioner, Wavelinx Technologies Private Limited, challenged a show cause notice dated 29.05.2024 and the later adjudication order dated 23.08.2024 passed for the tax period April 2019 to March 2020, raising a GST demand of Rs. 86,44,927. The adjudication order was passed ex-parte as the petitioner neither filed a reply to the show cause notice nor appeared for a personal hearing.

The petitioner also questioned the validity of Notification Nos. 9/2023 and 56/2023 were issued under Section 168A of the CGST Act, which extended the limitation for adjudication. The case formed part of a larger batch where divergent High Court views existed, and the issue was pending consideration before the Supreme Court.

Main Issue: Whether an ex-parte adjudication order passed without an effective opportunity to reply to the show cause notice and without a personal hearing could be sustained, and what relief ought to be granted pending adjudication by the Supreme Court on the validity of Section 168A notifications.

HC’s Decision: The Hon’ble High Court set aside the impugned adjudication order and remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority. The petitioner was granted time till 15.01.2026 to file a reply to the show cause notice, after which a personal hearing must be granted, and a fresh order passed in accordance with law.

The Court expressly left open the issue regarding the validity of Notification Nos. 9/2023 and 56/2023, clarifying that any fresh order would be subject to the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings in SLP No. 4240/2025. Access to the GST portal was directed to be restored to enable compliance.

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