Saakar India Vs Commissioner of Delhi Goods And Services Tax And Anr (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court, in the case of M/s Saakar India Vs Commissioner of Delhi Goods And Services Tax And Anr, set aside a demand order of ₹6,26,283/- related to the financial year 2019-2020. The primary reason for the court’s intervention was to grant the taxpayer a proper opportunity to file a reply to the show cause notice (SCN) and be heard before any adverse demand was finalized.
Background of the Dispute
The petitioner, M/s Saakar India, challenged both the SCN dated May 22, 2024, and the resulting demand order dated August 22, 2024, which finalized the tax liability. The petitioner admitted that they had not filed a reply to the SCN or attended the personal hearing due to an “inadvertent error on the part of the accountant.” The respondent Revenue argued that despite a reminder notice being issued, the petitioner failed to comply.
Simultaneous Challenge to GST Notifications
The petition also included a challenge to Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax and State Tax), which extended the limitation period for passing assessment orders under Section 73 of the CGST Act. The Court noted that this issue was part of a larger batch of petitions, with varying opinions among different High Courts:
- The Allahabad High Court upheld the validity of Notification No. 9/2023.
- The Patna High Court upheld the validity of Notification No. 56/2023.
- The Guwahati High Court quashed Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax).
- The Telangana High Court made observations regarding the notification’s invalidity.
The Delhi High Court acknowledged that the central challenge to the validity of the extension notifications issued under Section 168A was already pending before the Supreme Court in the matter of M/s HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV v. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax & Ors. (S.L.P No. 4240/2025). Furthermore, the challenge to the parallel State Notifications remained under consideration by the Delhi High Court itself.
