Seagull Maritime Agencies Private Limited. Vs Union of India & Ors (Delhi High Court)
The petitioner challenged two orders dated 04.12.2023 passed under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, whereby demands of ₹18,04,132 and ₹1,43,59,445, including penalty, were raised pursuant to Show Cause Notices dated 20.09.2023 and 29.09.2023.
According to the petitioner, all business activities had been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, a Show Cause Notice dated 25.08.2020 had been issued proposing cancellation of the GST registration on the ground that returns had not been filed for a continuous period of six months. Thereafter, by order dated 19.09.2020, the GST registration was cancelled retrospectively with effect from 01.08.2020.
The petitioner submitted that it had no knowledge of the Show Cause Notices dated 20.09.2023 and 29.09.2023 because they had only been uploaded on the common portal and were neither served at its address nor by email. It was also submitted that, since the GST registration had been cancelled retrospectively, the petitioner did not check the GST portal.
The High Court noted that the Show Cause Notices contained separate heads relating to declaration of output tax, excess claim of Input Tax Credit (ITC), under-declaration of ineligible ITC, and ITC claimed from cancelled dealers, return defaulters and tax non-payers.
