Rajkumar Dyeing & Printing Works Private Limited Vs Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
The writ petition challenged an appellate order dated June 25, 2025 passed under Section 107 of the WBGST Act, 2017/CGST Act, 2017, by which the petitioner’s appeal was dismissed solely on the ground of delay. The petitioner contended that the delay occurred because the adjudication order was uploaded on the GST e-portal under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab rather than the main tab, resulting in the petitioner missing the notice. It was further argued that the adjudication proceedings violated principles of natural justice, as no opportunity of personal hearing was granted despite Section 75(4) of the Act mandating such a hearing before passing an adverse order. The petitioner also asserted that the show cause notice was similarly uploaded under the same tab, depriving the petitioner of any opportunity to respond, and that the adjudication order was unreasoned.
The State GST authorities defended the appellate order, submitting that notifications would have been sent to the petitioner’s registered mobile number and email address. However, the petitioner produced a screenshot of the email inbox to show that no such notification was received. Upon examining the records, the Court found it undisputed that both the show cause notice and the adjudication order were uploaded only under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab. Neither the adjudicating authority nor the appellate authority established that any SMS or email notification had in fact been sent; the appellate order merely assumed such communication as a possibility.
