Swarn Cosmetic (India) Vs Union of India & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court considered a petition filed by M/s Swarn Cosmetic (India) under Article 226 of the Constitution, seeking quashing of a show cause notice (SCN) dated 31st May 2024 and a subsequent order dated 27th August 2024 for the financial year 2019-20. The petitioner also challenged the validity of several GST notifications, including Notification Nos. 09/2023 and 56/2023 (Central and State Tax), on procedural grounds, alleging that proper statutory requirements under Section 168A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, had not been followed.
The challenge to the notifications formed part of a broader batch of petitions, with DJST Traders Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India as the lead matter. In that case, the Court noted that Notification No. 09/2023 (Central Tax) complied with Section 168A, while Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax) was challenged as being issued without prior recommendation from the GST Council, contrary to statutory mandate. Notification No. 56/2023 (State Tax) was issued after the limitation period under Notification No.13/2022 (State Tax). Various High Courts had differing views on the validity of these notifications: Allahabad and Patna High Courts upheld the notifications, while Guwahati High Court quashed Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax). The Telangana High Court raised observations on the invalidity of Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax), which were under consideration before the Supreme Court in SLP No. 4240/2025 (M/s HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV v. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax & Ors).
