Uma Shankar Mishra Thekedar Vs State of U.P. and Another (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court has addressed a procedural issue regarding the uploading of a GST order on the common portal. In the case of Uma Shankar Mishra Thekedar vs. State of U.P. and Another, the petitioner challenged an ex-parte order passed under Section 73(9) of the GST Act, claiming it was not properly communicated. The petitioner argued that the order was not visible under the “view notices and orders” tab on the GST portal, but instead appeared under a separate, less prominent tab for “additional notice and orders.” This alleged misplacement, the petitioner contended, caused them to miss the deadline for filing an appeal.
The petitioner relied on a previous ruling from the same court, M/s Mohini Traders vs. State of U.P. and Another, to support their claim that a flawed portal upload could invalidate the notice. On the other hand, the state’s standing counsel argued that the assessing officer did not have a choice in where the orders were uploaded and that any technical issue was the responsibility of the GST Network (GSTN), a separate entity. The court found that the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the doubt, as there was no evidence to contradict their claim that the order was not properly visible.
