Hind Paper House Vs Commissioner State Goods And Service Tax Delhi & Anr (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court, in the matter of Hind Paper House vs Commissioner State Goods And Service Tax Delhi & Anr, set aside a substantial Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand order, directing the Adjudicating Authority to conduct a fresh hearing. The core issue revolved around the improper service of the Show Cause Notice (SCN) and the accompanying Relied Upon Documents (RUDs), a lapse the court determined was an initial error on the part of the GST Department.
Background of the Dispute
The dispute originated from a GST demand of over ₹4 crore for the tax period April 2019 to March 2020. A summary of the SCN, known as Form DRC-01, was uploaded on the GST portal on May 28, 2024. The Form DRC-01 indicated that the detailed SCN and supporting documents had also been uploaded.
However, the petitioner, Hind Paper House, challenged the subsequent Demand Order dated August 24, 2024, and the rejection of its rectification application, arguing that neither the detailed SCN nor the RUDs were uploaded along with the Form DRC-01. The petitioner contended that Form DRC-01 alone is insufficient and is not equivalent to a comprehensive SCN, thus vitiating the entire process due to lack of proper notice. An additional ground for challenge was that an alleged reversal of Input Tax Credit by the petitioner was not considered before the order was passed.
