South Eastern Coalfields Limited Vs Principal Commissioner CGST (Chhattisgarh High Court)
Central GST Show Cause Notice Upheld: Chhattisgarh HC Clarifies Scope of Section 6(2)(b) – No Bar Without Adjudication; Chhattisgarh HC: Central GST Can Proceed Even If State GST Under Same Matter Closed; Chhattisgarh HC Clarifies: Intelligence‑Based State GST Notices Don’t Bar Central Action
In South Eastern Coalfields Limited vs. Principal Commissioner, CGST, Raipur & Ors. [2025-VIL-805-CHG], the Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed the writ appeal challenging a show cause notice issued by the Central GST authorities under Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017. The appellant contended that since the State GST authorities had earlier issued show cause notices on the same subject matter and later dropped them, the Central authorities were barred under Section 6(2)(b) from initiating parallel proceedings.
The Division Bench clarified that Section 6(2)(b) of the CGST Act bars initiation of proceedings on a subject matter already being “proceeded upon” by another proper officer only if such proceedings involve adjudication — like assessment, penalties, or recovery under Sections 73 or 74. Since the State GST’s actions were neither first in time nor culminated in adjudication but were simply dropped without reasons, no jurisdictional bar arose.
Furthermore, the Court emphasized that the Central GST authorities had initiated proceedings first through an inspection on 27-08-2021, and hence, were empowered to complete the process, including issuance of the show cause notice. The appeal was accordingly dismissed, upholding the validity of the Central GST’s notice and reiterating that mere issuance and withdrawal of State notices, absent adjudication, do not preclude subsequent Central proceedings.
