GST Order Questioned for Relying on Non-Existent AI-Generated Citations

Marhabba Overseas Private Limited Vs Union of India & Ors. (Gujarat High Court)

In Marhabba Overseas Private Limited Vs Union of India & Ors. before the Gujarat High Court, the petitioner challenged an order dated 26.09.2025 passed by the Additional Commissioner, Central GST and Central Excise. During the hearing, learned Senior Advocate Mr. Soparkar highlighted serious concerns regarding the impugned order, particularly the reliance placed on non-existing or irrelevant judicial precedents while rejecting the petitioner’s defence submissions recorded in paragraphs 19.1 to 19.4 of the order.

Regarding paragraph 19.1, the defence related to a defective show-cause notice dated 29.06.2025 uploaded on the GST portal without supplying Relied Upon Documents (RUDs). The authority rejected this submission relying on Union of India Vs. Coastal Container Transporters Association, 2019 S.C.C. OnLine SC 1744. It was pointed out that the cited page number was incorrect and, more importantly, that the Supreme Court judgment concerned classification of service and maintainability of a writ petition against a show-cause notice, not the issue of non-supply of RUDs.

For paragraph 19.2, the defence concerned non-compliance with the mandatory issuance of DRC-01A under Rule 142A of the CGST Rules, 2017. The authority relied on a purported Madras High Court judgment in M/s. NKAS Service Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Union of India, (2021-VIL-37-MAD). It was submitted that no such Madras High Court judgment exists and that the relevant case was decided by the Jharkhand High Court in M/s. NKAS Service Pvt. Ltd. Vs. State of Jharkhand, 2021 S.C.C. OnLine Jharkhand 1266, which in fact held in favour of the petitioner and emphasized compliance with principles of natural justice.