Umagaurav Private Limited Vs State of Bihar (Patna High Court)
The petitioner, Umagaurav Private Limited, filed a writ petition seeking quashing of an ex parte order dated 18.02.2025 and the corresponding summary order in Form GST DRC-07 issued under Section 73(9) of the CGST/BGST Act, 2017 for the tax period April 2020 to March 2021. The petitioner also challenged the show cause notice dated 25.10.2024 issued under Section 73(1) along with Form GST DRC-01 and sought quashing of recovery proceedings initiated under Section 79(1)(c), refund of amounts recovered, and liberty for fresh adjudication after affording an opportunity of hearing.
According to the petitioner, it is engaged in construction services as a works contractor and had regularly filed GST returns and paid admitted tax. The petitioner contended that it came to know about the GST demand only after its bank account was attached. It submitted that the show cause notice, reminder notices and adjudication order had merely been uploaded under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab on the GST portal and were not effectively communicated through any other mode. It further alleged violation of principles of natural justice and Section 75(4) of the CGST/BGST Act as no effective opportunity of personal hearing was provided. The petitioner also asserted that the penalty imposed exceeded the amount proposed in the show cause notice and that genuine ITC could not be denied merely because suppliers had allegedly failed to file GSTR-1.
