Sambul Shahid Vs State of U.P. (Allahabad High Court)
The writ petition challenged an order dated 25 February 2025 passed under Section 73 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, by which a tax demand of ₹1,60,356.80 was raised in the name of Shahid Faizan Ahmad. The petitioner, Sambul Shahid, wife of the deceased, submitted that Shahid Faizan Ahmad had died on 26 April 2021. Despite his death, a show cause notice dated 30 November 2024 was issued in his name and uploaded on the GST portal. As the notice was addressed to the deceased and uploaded online, the petitioner had no occasion to access or respond to it. Consequently, the proceedings culminated in the impugned order raising a demand against a dead person.
It was argued that the Department was aware of the death of the proprietor and that the firm’s registration had already been cancelled. Therefore, initiating proceedings and passing an order in the name of the deceased was impermissible and rendered the entire action void ab initio.
The respondents sought to justify the impugned order by relying on Section 93 of the Act, contending that the provision permits recovery from legal representatives even when tax is determined after the death of the proprietor.
