Calcutta HC Grants Fresh Hearing as GST SCN Was Not Received

Sunil Batra Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)

The petitioner challenged the legality and validity of the appellate order dated 9 October 2025 passed under Section 107 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The challenge arose from proceedings initiated pursuant to a show cause notice in Form DRC-01 bearing reference No. ZD1912230551571 dated 24 December 2023. The notice required the petitioner to explain why the amount specified therein, along with interest and penalty, should not be recovered. The petitioner contended that the notice and the subsequent proceedings were contrary to law and had been conducted without following the prescribed statutory procedure.

The petitioner submitted that the relevant intimation had been uploaded on the GST portal under the “Additional Notice and Orders” tab. According to the petitioner, because of this placement, the show cause notice was not noticed and no reply could be filed. It was further stated that the petitioner became aware of the show cause notice dated 24 December 2023 and the adjudication order dated 12 March 2024 only after receiving information from a newly appointed accountant.

After hearing the parties and examining the records, the Calcutta High Court observed that the petitioner had not been able to receive the show cause notice and, consequently, had no opportunity to file a reply. The Court held that the petitioner should be given an opportunity to respond to the notice.