Business Aircraft Management Services Pvt Ltd. Vs State of Karnataka (Karnataka High Court)
The Karnataka High Court addressed a petition filed by Business Aircraft Management Services Pvt. Ltd., seeking to quash the impugned order dated 13th March, 2024, issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, LGSTO–17, DGSTO-04. The order confirmed a total GST demand of Rs. 16,15,303, including tax, interest, and penalty, and had frozen Rs. 11,70,369 in the petitioner’s bank account. The petitioner contended that it had not received proper notice of the proceedings because the notices, including the pre-intimation notice under Form GST DRC-01A dated 17th November, 2023, and the show-cause notice dated 26th December, 2023, were sent to the petitioner’s email account and landed in the “Junk Folder,” preventing the petitioner from submitting replies or contesting the proceedings.
The petitioner argued that its failure to respond was due to bona fide reasons and unavoidable circumstances, and requested an opportunity to reply to the show-cause notice and participate in the proceedings. The respondent contended that the petition lacked merit. The Court examined the facts and noted that the petitioner’s lack of awareness of the notices was genuine, as the emails were not visible in the inbox. The Court held that procedural fairness and natural justice require that the petitioner be given a chance to present its case, particularly when ex-parte orders arise due to unawareness of notices.
