Ashok Parakh Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court considered a writ petition challenging an ex parte adjudication order dated 17 August 2024 passed under Section 73 of the West Bengal GST Act, 2017 by the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Raiganj Zone, and the appellate order dated 16 September 2025 passed under Section 107 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
The petitioner contended that the pre-show-cause notice, show-cause notice, and adjudication order were never uploaded under the “NOTICES/ORDERS” tab on the GST Web Portal. Instead, they were made available under the “ADDITIONAL NOTICES/ORDERS” tab. According to the petitioner, previous notices had always been uploaded under the “NOTICES/ORDERS” tab, which he regularly checked. As he did not check the “ADDITIONAL NOTICES/ORDERS” tab, he remained unaware of the proceedings, resulting in the ex parte adjudication order.
The petitioner stated that he became aware of the ex parte order only on 12 August 2025. Thereafter, he filed an appeal before the appellate authority after depositing 10% of the disputed tax amounting to ₹2,52,090. The appeal, however, was rejected on 16 September 2025. The petitioner argued that the incorrect placement of notices on the GST portal prevented him from participating in the adjudication proceedings.
