Summary: The Delhi High Court, in the case of M/s Neeraj Kumar v. Proper Officer SGST (Writ Petition No. 9425/2024), addressed the issue of improper placement of a Show Cause Notice (SCN) on the GST portal. The petitioner, M/s Neeraj Kumar, argued that the SCN, issued on September 28, 2023, was uploaded under the “Additional Notices and Orders” category rather than “Notices and Orders,” making it difficult to access. The court referenced similar cases, including ACE Cardiopathy Solutions (P.) Ltd. v. UOI, where similar procedural lapses were noted. The GST portal had since been redesigned to combine the “View Notices” and “View Additional Notices” tabs under one heading. Consequently, the court set aside the demand order dated December 30, 2023, and remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority for reconsideration. The petitioner was granted two weeks to respond to the SCN. This decision highlights the need for proper categorization and access to notices on the GST portal to ensure fair intimation to taxpayers.
Introduction: The Hon’ble Delhi High Court in M/s Neeraj Kumar v. Proper Officer SGST [Civil Writ Petition No. 9425 of 2024 dated July 11, 2024] held that Show Cause Notice (“SCN”) uploaded under the category of “Additional Notices and Order” instead of “Notices and Orders” before the GST portal was redesigned. The demand order was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for consideration afresh.
Facts:
M/s Neeraj Kumar (“the Petitioner”) was issued show cause notice dated September 28, 2023 (“the Impugned Notice”). Subsequently, an Order dated December 30, 2023 (“the Impugned Order”) was passed.
The Impugned SCN and the Impugned Order were passed in accordance with the Notification No.9/2023-Central Tax dated March 31, 2023 (“the Impugned Notification”) in which the time limit specified under the Section 73(10) of the CGST Act for passing an order under Section 73(9) of the CGST Act, for the year 2017-18 was extended up to December 31, 2023 and the power vested under Section 168A of the CGST Act.
The Petitioner contented that the Impugned SCN is barred by limitation, and it was required to be placed under the heading of ‘Notices and Orders’ but it was uploaded on the portal in the category of ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ which were not easily accessible.
Hence, aggrieved by the Impugned SCN, the Impugned Order and the Impugned Notification, the present writ petition was filed by the Petitioner.
Issue:
Whether the GST Notice can be uploaded under “Additional Notices”?
Held:
The Hon’ble Delhi High Court in Civil Writ Petition No. 9425 of 2024 held as under:
- Relied on the case of ACE Cardiopathy Solutions (P.) Ltd. v. Union of Union of India [Neutral Citation No. 2024: DHC:4108-DB] where the court further relied on the case of M/s East Cost Constructions and Industries Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner (ST) [Writ Petition No. 26457/2023 dated September 11, 2023] wherein the High Court of Madras noticed that communications are placed under the heading of “View Notices and Orders” and “View Additional Notices and Orders”. The Madras High Court had directed the respondents to address the issue arising out of posting of information under two separate headings. As per the petitioner, the Menu “View Additional Notices and Orders” were under the heading of “User Services” and not under the heading “View Notices and Orders”.
- Held that, the GST Authorities have addressed the issue and have redesigned the portal to ensure that ‘View Notices’ tab and ‘View Additional Notices’ tab was placed under one heading. Hence, the Impugned Order was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for consideration afresh. The Petitioner was at the liberty to file the response against the Impugned SCN within the period of two weeks from the date.
Our Comments:
In a pari materia case, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the case of Anhad Impex v. Assistant Commissioner [ Writ Petition No.2356/2024 dated February 16, 2024] held that merely SCN under the category “Additional Notices” instead of “Notices” on the GST portal does not constitute sufficient intimation to the taxpayer. The demand order was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for consideration afresh.
Further, the Hon’ble Madras High Court in the case of Murugesan Jayalakshmi v. State Tax Officer [Writ Petition No. 2746 of 2024 dated February 08, 2024] noted that the said issue has been addressed and the portal has been re-designed and both the “View Notices” tab and “View Additional Notices” tab are under one heading.
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