Samban Pharma Vs Deputy Commissioner And Another (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court has quashed a Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand order amounting to Rs. 27,33,816.10 issued against Samban Pharma. The court ruled that a show cause notice and subsequent tax determination cannot be made against a deceased person, emphasizing the need to issue such notices to the legal representatives.
The petition was filed by Siddharth Shukla, son of the late Satish Kumar Shukla, who was the proprietor of Samban Pharma. Satish Kumar Shukla passed away on March 18, 2023. A show cause notice dated September 25, 2023, was subsequently issued in the name of the firm under Section 73 of the GST Act, 2017. This notice, uploaded on the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab of the GST portal, remained unanswered, leading to the demand order dated December 2, 2023.
The petitioner argued that with the proprietor’s demise, there was no legal basis to issue a show cause notice in the firm’s name. They contended that the entire proceedings initiated by the department were void from the outset and thus, the impugned order should be quashed.
Counsel for the respondents defended the order, citing Section 93 of the GST Act. They argued that under this provision, recovery could be made from legal representatives even if the tax determination occurred after the proprietor’s death.
