Aditya Security Force Vs Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Karnataka High Court)
Material Facts
The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging two ex parte adjudication orders dated 21.05.2025 passed under Section 73(9) of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for the tax periods 2021-22 and 2022-23, along with the corresponding Show Cause Notices dated 08.04.2024.
The petitioner stated that, despite issuance of the show cause notices, it could not appear and contest the proceedings, resulting in the impugned adjudication orders.
The petitioner further contended that the total tax, interest and penalty specified in the show cause notices differed from those in the adjudication orders, allegedly contrary to Section 73(7) of the Act.
It was also submitted that the petitioner, a small provider of security services, was not familiar with the GST portal and lacked proper advice regarding tax liability. The petitioner asserted that, under the notifications dated 28.06.2017 and 31.12.2017, as applicable to its business, GST was payable by the recipient of the services on a reverse charge basis, whereas the adjudicating authority had levied tax on the petitioner as the service provider.
Procedural History
Following the show cause notices dated 08.04.2024, adjudication orders under Section 73(9) were passed on 21.05.2025. Instead of filing a statutory appeal under Section 107(4), the petitioner approached the High Court. The petitioner acknowledged that the period prescribed for filing the appeal had expired and sought permission to avail the appellate remedy.
