ACME India Vs Dept of Trade And Taxes (Delhi GST) (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court heard a writ petition challenging a Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 17 May 2024 and the consequential order dated 28 August 2024 issued by the Sales Tax Officer for FY 2019–20. The impugned order raised a demand of ₹1,79,45,652, comprising tax of ₹92,88,903, interest of ₹77,27,858, and penalty of ₹9,28,891. The petitioner also challenged the validity of Notifications No. 9/2023 (Central) and 56/2023 (Central Tax).
The Court noted that these issues mirrored challenges pending in a batch of petitions led by DJST Traders Private Limited, where similar notifications were contested. In that matter, the Court had already examined the arguments concerning the requirement of prior recommendation of the GST Council under Section 168A of the CGST Act and the alleged procedural lapses affecting Notification No. 56/2023. Various High Courts had delivered differing rulings on these notifications: the Allahabad High Court upheld Notification No. 9/2023; the Patna High Court upheld Notification No. 56/2023; and the Guwahati High Court quashed Notification No. 56/2023. Observations of the Telangana High Court on Notification No. 56/2023 were currently under consideration by the Supreme Court in SLP No. 4240/2025. The Supreme Court had issued notice and identified several issues requiring examination, including whether Section 168A could be invoked to extend time limits for adjudicating SCNs under Section 73.
