Ramanattu Motor Corp. Vs State of Kerala (Kerala High Court)
The Kerala High Court, in Ramanattu Motor Corp. v. State of Kerala, addressed the issue of improper service of notices under the GST Act. The petitioner, a partnership firm, challenged a tax determination order under Section 73 of the CGST/SGST Act, claiming that neither the Show Cause Notice (SCN) nor the final order was served directly. The petitioner became aware of the proceedings only when a recovery notice was uploaded to the GST portal. The SCN was placed under ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ instead of the more commonly accessed ‘Notices and Orders’ tab, leading to a lack of awareness about the proceedings.
The court distinguished between ‘non-service of notice’ and ‘lack of knowledge of service.’ While the latter does not always amount to a violation of natural justice, it does in cases where the lack of knowledge is due to the sender’s default. The court observed that the GST portal lacked clear instructions on how notices were categorized and accessed. Consequently, the petitioner’s failure to notice the SCN was attributed to systemic vagueness rather than negligence. Referring to M/s. Sabari Infra Pvt. Ltd. v. Asst. Commissioner (ST) (Madras HC) and Anhad Impex v. Assistant Commissioner (Delhi HC), the court noted that similar issues had been identified, leading to later modifications in the GST portal’s design.
