Round Pay Voice Tech Vs State of U.P. (Allahabad High Court)
Material Facts:The petitioner challenged an order dated 05.02.2025 raising a GST demand of ₹59.20 crore for the period July 2017 to March 2018. Earlier, a show cause notice dated 07.05.2022 under Section 74 of the GST Act had proposed recovery of ₹57.60 crore towards tax, interest and penalty.
Legal Issue: Whether the adjudication order could raise a demand exceeding the amount specified in the show cause notice in view of Section 75(7) of the GST Act.
Parties’ Submissions: The petitioner contended that the demand of ₹59.20 crore, including penalty of ₹29.60 crore, exceeded the amount proposed in the show cause notice and violated Section 75(7). The State submitted that levy of interest and penalty is statutory and could be demanded in accordance with law even if not specifically indicated in the show cause notice.
Court’s Findings: The High Court observed that Section 75(7) expressly provides that the amount of tax, interest and penalty demanded in the order shall not exceed the amount specified in the notice. Since the show cause notice specified ₹57.60 crore while the final order demanded ₹59.20 crore, the order was ex facie contrary to Section 75(7).
