Subhra Baral Vs Deputy Commissioner of Revenue (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court allowed the writ petition filed by Subhra Baral challenging the adjudication order dated 28.07.2024 and the appellate order dated 29.05.2025 passed under Section 107 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act and Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, whereby the petitioner’s appeal had been dismissed solely on limitation. The petitioner submitted that Show Cause Notice in Form GST DRC-01 No. ZD190524017416E dated 12.05.2024, demanding tax, interest and penalty, had been uploaded on the GST portal only under the “Additional Notice and Orders” tab. According to the petitioner, no separate intimation was received, due to which the notice remained unnoticed and no reply could be filed.
The petitioner stated that the adjudication order dated 28.07.2024 came to his knowledge only when his accountant checked the common portal in March 2025. The appeal filed thereafter under Section 107 was dismissed on limitation without examination on merits. The State contended that ample opportunities had been granted and the appeal was correctly rejected as time-barred. The High Court, however, found that the petitioner had made out a prima facie case. It specifically observed that uploading the show cause notice only under the “Additional Notice and Orders” tab without separate intimation had prevented the petitioner from replying and constituted a violation of natural justice. Since the appellate authority had dismissed the appeal only on limitation and had not considered the merits, the Court held that interference was warranted in the peculiar facts of the case.
