Srikant Das Vs Joint Commissioner of State Tax (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court allowed the writ petition challenging an ex parte assessment and the consequent appellate order passed under the Goods and Services Tax law. The petitioner, a works contractor who had ceased business operations in 2016, had not obtained registration after the introduction of the GST regime. Despite this, proceedings were initiated against him under Section 63 of the GST Act by generating a temporary GSTIN and issuing a notice in Form GST ASMT-14. As the petitioner was unaware of such proceedings, he could not participate, resulting in an ex parte assessment order dated 22.01.2022 treating him as an unregistered taxable person and raising a demand. The appeal filed under Section 107 of the GST Act was also dismissed on 14.12.2023, thereby confirming the demand.
The petitioner contended that both the assessing and appellate authorities relied solely on data available on the Works and Accounts Management Information System (WAMIS) and the Income Tax portal, without granting an opportunity of hearing. It was argued that the demand arose due to incorrect data feeding and confusion caused by the existence of another contractor with the same name who was duly registered under GST. The petitioner asserted that had a hearing been granted, the discrepancy could have been clarified.
