Sarat Chandra Ghorai Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court considered a writ petition challenging the adjudication order dated 06.04.2024 and the appellate order dated 03.12.2025 passed under Section 107 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, whereby the petitioner’s appeal had been dismissed on the ground of limitation. The petitioner submitted that a show cause notice in Form DRC 01 dated 09.12.2023 demanding tax, interest and penalty had been uploaded on the GST portal under the “Additional Notice and Orders” tab and that no actual intimation had been received, preventing the petitioner from responding to the notice. The petitioner further contended that the proceedings and impugned orders violated principles of natural justice and the statutory procedure.
The State respondents opposed the petition, submitting that the petitioner had been given ample opportunities through DRC 01A dated 20.11.2023, DRC 01 dated 09.12.2023 and a reminder dated 26.02.2024, and therefore the appeal had rightly been dismissed as time-barred. The Court, after considering the submissions and records, found that the petitioner had made out a prima facie case.
It specifically observed that the show cause notice had only been uploaded under the “Additional Notice and Orders” tab and that no separate intimation had been given, resulting in the petitioner being unable to reply to the notice. The Court held that this constituted a violation of natural justice. Since the appeal had been dismissed by the appellate authority only on limitation and not on merits, the Court held that, considering the peculiar facts, interference was warranted in the interests of justice.
