Ram Balak Gupta Vs State of U.P. and 2 others (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court addressed a case, Ram Balak Gupta Vs State of U.P. and 2 others, concerning a Goods and Services Tax (GST) order issued under Section 73 of the GST Act, 2017. The petitioner contested the order, arguing that the notices related to the case were incorrectly uploaded on the GST portal’s “Additional Notices and Orders” tab instead of the “Due Notices and Orders” tab. This error resulted in the petitioner’s lack of awareness regarding the notices and subsequent orders, preventing them from responding or challenging the orders within the stipulated time frame. The court considered the petitioner’s argument, referencing a similar case, Ola Fleet Technologies Ltd. v. State of U.P., where the court had acknowledged the same issue and granted the petitioner the benefit of doubt. The counsel for the Department did not dispute the petitioner’s claims regarding the incorrect uploading of notices and orders, conceding that the case was similar to the Ola Fleet Technologies Ltd. ruling.
In the Ola Fleet Technologies Ltd. case, the court focused on the communication of the impugned order, which was found to be improperly uploaded. The court noted that the petitioner could not access the order through the usual “view notices and orders” tab, leading to a limitation issue. The Department’s counsel explained that the assessing officer had no control over where the orders were displayed on the portal, attributing the problem to the GST Network. The court ultimately determined that the petitioner deserved the benefit of doubt, as there was no evidence to refute the claim of improper order display. Furthermore, the court addressed a separate dispute regarding the consideration of the assessee’s replies and annexures by the assessing officer. The court decided to quash the impugned order, directing the assessing officer to issue a fresh notice to the petitioner and conduct a reassessment. The court also took into account that the disputed amount was already deposited with the state, eliminating any outstanding demand.
