Kesarwani Enterprises Vs Commercial Tax Officer And Another (Allahabad High Court)
Allahabad High Court has set aside an adjudication order dated April 3, 2024, issued against Kesarwani Enterprises, citing a failure to adhere to natural justice principles regarding the service of show cause notices (SCN). The petitioner’s GST registration under the UPGST Act, 2017, was cancelled on January 2, 2021, effective from the same date.
The court noted that it was undisputed that the petitioner’s registration had been cancelled and had not been revived. Consequently, the High Court determined that Kesarwani Enterprises was not obligated to monitor the GST portal for show cause notices issued electronically for the period April 2018 to March 2019, which preceded the impugned adjudication order.
Crucially, the revenue department did not contend that any physical or offline notice was issued or served to the petitioner before the order was passed. The court emphasized that the essential requirement of rules of natural justice had not been fulfilled.
In light of these facts, the High Court set aside the order dated April 3, 2024. The petitioner has been granted a period of four weeks to submit a reply to the show cause notice. Following this compliance, the Commercial Tax Officer is directed to pass a fresh order after providing an opportunity for a personal hearing, preferably within three months. The writ petition has been disposed of with these directions. No judicial precedents were cited in the judgment.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
1. Having heard Sri Nitin Kumar Kesarwani, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Ankur Agarwal, learned Standing Counsel for the respondents, it remains undisputed that the petitioner’s registration under the UPGST Act, 2017 was cancelled on 02.01.2021 w.e.f. 02.01.2021. It is not the case of the revenue that the said registration has ever been revived or that the petitioner ever sought revival of that registration.
2. In view of the above, it does merit acceptance that the petitioner was not obligated to visit the GST portal to receive the show cause notices that may have been issued to the petitioner for April, 2018 – March, 2019 through e-mode, preceding the adjudication order dated 03.04.2024 passed in pursuance thereto.
3. It is also not the case of the revenue that any physical/offline notice was issued to or served on the petitioner before the impugned order came to be passed.
4. In view of peculiar facts noted above, no useful purpose may be served in keeping the petition pending or calling counter affidavit at this stage or to relegate the present petitioner to the forum of alternative remedy.
5. Since essential requirement of rules of natural justice has remained to be fulfilled, we set aside the order dated 03.04.2024. The petitioner may submit its reply to the show cause notice within a period of four weeks from today. Subject to such compliance by the petitioner, fresh order may be passed after affording opportunity of personal hearing, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of three months therefrom.
6. Writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of.
