Shree Arihant Logistics Private Limited Vs State of Assam And 2 Ors (Gauhati High Court)
Gauhati High Court held that the Summary of the SCN issued in FORM GST DRC-01 does not substitute the proper SCN required under Section 73(1) of both the Central and State GST Acts. Accordingly, summary cannot override or replace requirement of issuing proper SCN.
Facts- The petitioner was issued a Summary of Show Cause dated 28.09.2023 in GST DRC-01 for the tax period from July 2017- March 2018 along with an attachment as regards the determination of tax. It is the case of the petitioner that as there was no proper Show Cause Notice attached to the Summary of the Show Cause Notice dated 28.09.2023 in the portal, the petitioner did not submit any reply. Subsequent thereto, an order was passed on 28.12.2023 in GST DRC-07 and the reason assigned is that the assessee failed to make payment within 30 days of issue of notice. It is contended that the attachment as well as the Summary of the Order uploaded in GST DRC-01 and GST DRC-07 were not authenticated by any signature of the Proper Officer.
Conclusion- Held that the Summary of the SCN issued in FORM GST DRC-01 does not substitute the proper SCN required under Section 73(1) of both the Central and State GST Acts. A formal and duly authenticated SCN is mandatorily required to initiate proceedings under Section 73. The Statement of tax determination under Section 73(3), which is attached to the summary in the present case cannot be treated as a valid SCN. Therefore, initiating proceedings solely based on such a statement is not in conformity with law.
