Saboo Tor Pvt. Ltd Vs State of H.P. And Others (Himachal Pradesh High Court)
In the case of Saboo Tor Pvt. Ltd. v. State of H.P. and Others, the Himachal Pradesh High Court addressed a procedural dispute under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act. The petitioner, Saboo Tor Pvt. Ltd., argued that its case was similar to a prior matter, CWP No. 1793 of 2024, where proceedings were stayed due to the lack of a mandatory notice.
The court noted that the petitioner’s case concerned an audit under Section 65 of the GST Act. Under Section 65(3), a registered person must receive at least 15 working days’ notice before an audit is conducted. The court found that the State’s Additional Advocate General was unable to provide evidence of such a notice being issued to the petitioner. The notice that was produced by the State, Annexure P-1, was issued in Form GST-DRC-01, which is related to assessment proceedings rather than a pre-audit notice under Section 65(3).
Due to this procedural lapse, the court found a prima facie case in favor of the petitioner, mirroring the circumstances in the precedent of CWP No. 1793 of 2024. Consequently, the High Court issued an interim stay on further proceedings initiated by the state, specifically halting actions related to Annexure P-1, dated May 24, 2024, and the impugned order dated September 12, 2024, for the financial year 2019-20. The matter was adjourned, with the respondents instructed to file a reply within four weeks. This ruling highlights the importance of adhering to statutory procedural requirements, particularly the issuance of proper notice before initiating an audit under the GST Act.
