Trillion Lead Factory Private Limited Vs State Tax Officer (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court heard a writ petition challenging the validity of an Order-in-Original dated 25.08.2025 and a show cause notice dated 27.09.2025 issued under Section 129 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner contended that the order and notice were time-barred, having been passed beyond the statutory period of seven days prescribed for issuance and communication under Section 129(3) of the Act.
The respondents argued that since the owner of the goods paid the tax and penalty on 25.08.2025, there was no necessity to pass the order within seven days, and that the order in Form GST MOV-09, though dated 25.08.2025, was uploaded on the portal on 27.09.2025. However, the affidavit-in-reply was silent on compliance with the statutory limitation for communicating the order within seven days.
The Court noted that the conveyance was intercepted on 19.08.2025 and goods were detained on 22.08.2025. The petitioner paid tax and penalty on 25.08.2025, leading to release of goods and conveyance. It was undisputed that no proper show cause notice under Section 129(3) was served, and although Form MOV-07 was stated to have been issued on 25.08.2025, it was neither served nor properly acknowledged. Discrepancies were found in the statutory forms, including absence of required signatures and acknowledgments, and the Form MOV-09 also lacked signatures. These inconsistencies, coupled with a transporter’s affidavit stating signatures were taken on blank papers, cast doubt on the alleged issuance of notices and orders on the stated date.
