Gangotri Engineers Vs State of U.P (Allahabad High Court)
Summary : The Allahabad High Court considered a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging two orders passed under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner sought quashing of (i) an ex parte order passed under Section 73 of the GST Act in FORM DRC-07 dated February 15, 2025 for the financial year 2020–21, raising a demand of ₹28,79,278.85 including interest and penalty, and (ii) an appellate order dated September 29, 2025 passed under Section 107 of the GST Act, by which the appeal was dismissed as time-barred. The petitioner also sought a direction for refund of the amount deposited at the time of filing the appeal.
From the record, the Court noted that a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner on November 14, 2024. The notice stipulated December 13, 2024 as the last date for filing a reply and fixed December 20, 2024 as the date of personal hearing. The petitioner did not appear pursuant to the said show cause notice. Thereafter, an original order under Section 73 of the GST Act was passed on February 15, 2025.
The Court observed that, although the show cause notice had mentioned an earlier date of hearing, no further notice was issued to the petitioner intimating that the matter would be taken up for hearing on February 15, 2025, the date on which the impugned order was ultimately passed. Thus, the order under Section 73 was passed without granting the petitioner any fresh or effective opportunity of hearing on that date.
