Saurabh Kumar Gupta Vs Union of India (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court dismissed the writ petition challenging the order dated 30.12.2025 passed by the Deputy Commissioner, CGST & Central Excise, Division-I, Lucknow, whereby a penalty of ₹38,12,904 was imposed upon the petitioner under Section 122(1)(A) of the CGST Act, 2017.
The case arose from intelligence gathered by the authorities indicating that M/s Maa Ambey Distributors had procured fake invoices from M/s C.B. Traders and had availed and utilized inadmissible Input Tax Credit (ITC) on the basis of such invoices. The matter was investigated by officers of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Lucknow, who conducted searches at both firms.
During the investigation, the petitioner’s statement was recorded under Section 70 of the CGST Act, wherein he admitted that both firms were being operated by him. Based on the intelligence report, proceedings under Section 74 of the CGST Act were initiated. Show cause notices were sent to the petitioner through registered speed post. However, the petitioner neither appeared before the authorities nor submitted any response to the notices. Consequently, the proceedings were finalized and the impugned penalty order was passed.
The petitioner contended before the High Court that the order violated Section 75(4) of the CGST Act because no opportunity of hearing had been provided to him, as the show cause notice had not been uploaded on the GST portal.
