Tvl. Silver Cloud Estates Private Limited Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court remanded the matter as notice in DRC-01A was merely uploaded in GST portal and hence petitioner was unaware about initiated proceedings. Further, petitioner directed to deposit 25% of disputed taxes.
Facts- The petitioner is engaged in the construction work and is registered under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. During the relevant period of 2018-19, the petitioner filed its returns and paid the appropriate taxes. However, on verification of the petitioner’s monthly return, various discrepancies were noticed.
Pursuant thereto, a notice in DRC-01A was issued on 04.05.2023, followed by a Show Cause Notice in DRC-01 on 05.03.2023 and reminders on 14.08.2023 and 05.12.2023. However, the petitioner had neither filed its reply nor availed the opportunity for a personal hearing. Hence, the impugned order came to be passed, confirming the proposal.
The impugned order is challenged on the premise that neither the show cause notices nor the impugned order of assessment has been served on the petitioner by tender or sending it by RPAD, instead it had been uploaded under View Additional Notices column in the GST Portal, thereby, the petitioner was unaware of the initiated proceedings and was thus unable to participate in the adjudication proceedings.
