Balajee Traders Vs Sales Tax Officer (Delhi High Court)
The petition before the Delhi High Court was filed by Shree Balajee Traders through its proprietor under Article 226 of the Constitution, seeking quashing of a show cause notice dated 29 May 2024 and the consequent order dated 24 August 2024 relating to the financial year 2019–2020. The petitioner also challenged the vires of four notifications: Notification No. 09/2023-Central Tax, Notification No. 09/2023-State Tax, Notification No. 56/2023-Central Tax, and Notification No. 56/2023-State Tax. The challenge mirrored similar petitions already raised in a batch of matters, with W.P.(C) No. 16499/2023 serving as the lead case. In that matter, heard on 22 April 2025, the Court recorded that the broad challenge to the notifications concerned the procedure followed before their issuance. Section 168A of the CGST Act requires prior recommendation of the GST Council for extending deadlines. While such recommendation existed for Notification No. 09, the challenge to Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax) was that it extended time contrary to Section 168A, and that ratification occurred only after its issuance even though the notification claimed it was issued on GST Council recommendation. Notification No. 56/2023 (State Tax) was challenged on the ground that it was issued after expiry of the limitation under Notification No. 13/2022 (State Tax).
