Carry Co Vs Union of India & ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Service of notice or order by portal is a sufficient compliance under section 169 of CGST Act: Calcutta HC
The Calcutta High Court, in the case of Carry Co, Prop: Mr. Kajal Kumar Garai v. Union of India & Ors., ruled on June 9, 2025, that uploading an order on the GST portal constitutes valid service under Section 169(1)(d) of the CGST/WBGST Act. The petitioner, Carry Co, challenged an appellate authority’s decision to reject their appeal as time-barred, arguing that the original order had not been served via conventional methods (physical delivery, registered post, or email) before being uploaded to the portal. The petitioner contended that service via the portal under clause (d) was only valid if the methods outlined in clauses (a) to (c) of Section 169(1) were first attempted and failed.
However, the High Court disagreed, observing that Section 169(1) lists various modes of service using the word “or,” indicating that any of these methods are sufficient on their own, not necessarily in a sequential order. The only exception is clause (f), which explicitly states it applies if other modes are impracticable. The court noted that the petitioner had participated in earlier proceedings related to the show cause notice, which was also uploaded to the portal, demonstrating their awareness. The High Court also found that the appellate authority had incorrectly rejected the appeal solely on grounds of delay without considering its power to condone delays, citing a judicial precedent on the matter. Consequently, the court set aside the appellate authority’s order and directed it to hear the appeal on its merits, conditional on the petitioner paying ₹25,000 to the High Court Legal Services Committee within four weeks.
