Tvl. Sri Vinayaga Tiles & Granites Vs Deputy State Tax Officer (ST) (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court has quashed a tax assessment order issued to Tvl. Sri Vinayaga Tiles & Granites, citing a violation of natural justice principles. The court ruled that the petitioner was not afforded a proper opportunity to be heard before the Deputy State Tax Officer (ST) issued the order.
The case, Tvl.Sri Vinayaga Tiles & Granites Vs Deputy State Tax Officer (ST), challenged an order in Form GST DRC-07 dated December 29, 2023, for the assessment period 2017-18. The petitioner contended that they were unaware of the proceedings leading to the final order, as critical notices were merely uploaded to the “Additional Notices” section of the GST Portal, which they did not regularly monitor.
Petitioner’s Submissions
The counsel for the petitioner, Mr. N. Chandrasekar, argued that the respondent bypassed the initial step of issuing an intimation in Form GST ASMT-10. Instead, notices in Form GST DRC-01A (dated September 26, 2023) and Form GST DRC-01 (dated September 29, 2023), followed by a reminder, were directly uploaded to the GST Portal under the “Additional Notices” tab. This method of communication, according to the petitioner, meant they had “no occasion to view the portal” and thus, no knowledge of the ongoing proceedings until their accountant brought it to their attention in the second week of November 2024.
