Raja Babu Kapra Ghar Vs Union of India through the Secretary (Patna High Court)
The Patna High Court considered a writ petition challenging an ex parte assessment order dated 06.02.2025 passed under Section 73(9) of the BGST Act, 2017 for the Financial Year 2020-21 and the consequential demand raised in Form DRC-07. The petitioner sought quashing of the assessment order on the grounds that it was passed without a reasoned order, without valid service of notices under Section 169 of the BGST Act, 2017, and without granting an opportunity of hearing as required under Sections 75(4) and 75(5) of the Act.
The petitioner submitted that it had filed its GST returns and paid the admitted tax for the relevant financial year. It later learnt from the office of the Joint Commissioner, State Tax, Siwan Circle, that an assessment order had been passed raising a demand of Rs.7,58,105.36, including tax, interest and penalty.
The petitioner contended that prior to passing the ex parte assessment order, no notice of personal hearing was uploaded under the “Notices and Orders” tab on the GST portal. Instead, the notice fixing the date of personal hearing was uploaded only under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab. It was further asserted that no notice relating to the proceedings under Section 73 of the BGST Act was communicated through any other mode, and therefore the petitioner remained unaware of the proceedings and was deprived of the opportunity to participate.
