A.R. Steels Vs Deputy Assistant Commissioner STL (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
The writ petition was filed before the Andhra Pradesh High Court challenging an assessment order dated 30.08.2024 passed by the Deputy Assistant Commissioner (STL).
The petitioner is a registered dealer under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, engaged in trading iron and iron scrap. Its GST registration was cancelled suo motu by the jurisdictional officer on 15.07.2023 with effect from 01.06.2023. Challenging the cancellation, the petitioner earlier approached the High Court in W.P.No.23511 of 2023. By order dated 19.06.2024, the Court disposed of that writ petition by granting liberty to the petitioner to either file an application for revocation of cancellation under Section 30 of the GST Act or to challenge the cancellation order by way of appeal, directing that such remedy be availed within 15 days from receipt of the order.
According to the petitioner, pursuant to the above direction, applications were filed seeking revocation of cancellation, which were stated to be pending adjudication. In the meantime, the first respondent conducted an inspection after issuing Form INS-01 dated 01.07.2023, followed by an audit for the period from December 2021 to June 2023. Thereafter, a pre-show cause notice in Form DRC-01A dated 30.08.2024 and a show cause notice in Form DRC-01 dated 20.09.2024 were issued, alleging discrepancies between returns filed in GSTR-1 and GSTR-2B. The notices proposed levy of tax, interest, and 100% penalty for the period from 2021-22 to 2023-24 (up to June 2024). The notices and hearing intimation were uploaded on the portal and also sent by registered post, which was returned with an endorsement stating that no such person was available.
