Global Distributors Vs Assisstant Commissioner (Kerala High Court)
In the case of Global Distributors vs. Assistant Commissioner, the Kerala High Court addressed a petition challenging assessment orders issued under the CGST/SGST Acts for July and August 2017. The petitioner’s GST registration was canceled in December 2021, effective from November 2019, and the petitioner claimed to be unaware of the assessment orders uploaded in September 2022 due to the registration cancellation and cessation of business. The petitioner had conceded an output tax liability of approximately ₹10 lakhs but had not paid the amount. The court acknowledged that while the orders were legally deemed to have been served by being uploaded to the GST portal, the petitioner’s failure to check the portal could be reasonably explained by the registration cancellation. As a result, the court set aside the impugned orders and remanded the matter to the Jurisdictional Assessing Authority for fresh adjudication, provided the petitioner deposits ₹10 lakhs towards the outstanding tax liability within two weeks. If the deposit is not made, the petitioner will forfeit the relief granted by the court.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KERALA HIGH COURT
The petitioner is aggrieved by Exts.P5 and P5(a) orders of assessment and Exts.P6 and P6(a) summary of orders for the year July 2017 and August 2017 under the CGST/ SGST Acts. It is the case of the petitioner that the registration of the petitioner had been cancelled on 12.12.2021 with effect from 30.11.2019 and the petitioner was therefore unaware of the orders passed and did not get an opportunity to file returns. The orders were uploaded on the portal, which had not been accessed by the petitioner since the registration had been cancelled and the petitioner was no longer continuing with the business. It is pointed out that the orders were issued on 13.09.2022 much after the registration of the petitioner was cancelled. It is submitted that the petitioner had conceded a Output Tax liability of approximately Rs.10 lakhs in the GSTR – 1 filed for July and August of 2017. It is submitted that since the assessment has now been completed to the best of judgment, the petitioner may be given an opportunity to appear before the officer and establish its case.
