Case Law Details
Khanna Polyrib Private Limited Vs State of U.P. and Another (Allahabad High Court)
The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in the case of Khanna Polyrib (P.) Ltd. v. State of Uttar Pradesh (Writ Tax No. 1311 of 2023 dated January 12, 2024) held that the printout of the dashboard clearly indicated that the Petitioner was not denied the Right to object the Show Cause Notice and the Right to personal hearing. It was due to the non-uploading of the Show Cause Notice on the GST portal that those rights came to be denied to the Petitioner automatically. Hence, the Right to personal hearing and Right to object the Show Cause Notice cannot be compromised if the Show Cause Notice is not uploaded on the GST portal.
Facts:
Khanna Polyrib (P.) Ltd. (“the Petitioner”) were issued a Show Cause Notice dated August 28, 2023 (“the Impugned Notice”). The Impugned Notice was mandatory to be issued before any penalty may have been imposed. The dashboard on the portal operated by the Petitioner only disclosed the reference number, issue date, the due date to reply, the requirement of personal hearing, section description under which the Impugned Notice was issued. However, it did not contain the Impugned Notice that was necessary to be attached. The Order dated October 10, 2023 (“the Impugned Order”) was passed.
Hence, aggrieved by the circumstances, the present writ petition was filed by the Petitioner.
Issue:
Whether the right to personal hearing and right to object the SCN can be compromised if the SCN is not uploaded on the portal?
Held:
The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in Writ Tax No. 1311 of 2023 held as under:
- Observed that, the right of the Petitioner to object to the Impugned Notice and right to hearing was completely compromised. Unless, the Impugned Notice had been served on the Petitioner with all its contents and annexures, if any, the Petitioner may never have availed the opportunity to effectively object to the Impugned Notice and participate in the personal hearing.
- Noted that, the print out of the dashboard display clearly indicates that the Petitioner was not denied the right to personal hearing and the right to object the Impugned Notice. Due to the non-uploading of the Impugned Notice, those rights came to be denied to the Petitioner.
- Held that, there is no useful purpose may be served in keeping such a petition pending or calling for a counter affidavit. Hence, the Impugned Order was set aside with liberty to proceed in accordance with law.
Conclusion: The Allahabad High Court’s ruling serves as a reminder of the importance of procedural integrity in tax administration. Upholding the rights of taxpayers, including the right to object to show cause notices and participate in personal hearings, is essential for ensuring a fair and transparent tax regime.
The non-uploading of documents on the GST portal not only hampers the rights of taxpayers but also impedes the efficacy of the adjudicatory process. Therefore, it is imperative for authorities to meticulously adhere to procedural requirements to avoid such lapses.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
1. Having heard Sri Shubham Agrawal learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Nimai Das learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State, it appears that due to inadvertence, show cause notice dated 29.8.2023 that was mandatory to be issued before any penalty may have been imposed, remained to be uploaded by way of attachment. Thus, the dashboard on the portal operated by the petitioner only disclosed reference number, issue date, due date to reply, requirement of personal hearing, section description under which notice was issued. It did not contain the notice that was necessary to be attached.
2. Owing to such inadvertent error, the right of the petitioner to object to the notice and his right to hearing was completely compromised. Unless the notice had been served on the petitioner with all its contents and annexures, if any, the petitioner may never have availed his opportunity to effectively object to the notice and participate in the personal hearing.
3. It is beyond doubt that the petitioner had a perfect right to object to the show cause notice and he had a near perfect right to personal hearing.
4. Perusal of the print out of the dashboard display clearly indicates that the respondent authority also did not seek to deny such right to the petitioner. Occasioned by the inadvertence, noted above, those rights came to be denied to the petitioner.
5. In such facts, no useful purpose may ever be served in keeping such a petition pending or calling for counter affidavit at this stage.
6. Accordingly, the impugned order dated 10.10.2023 is set aside with liberty to the respondent authority to proceed in accordance with law.
7. Writ petition stands disposed of.
*****
(Author can be reached at info@a2ztaxcorp.com)
Author Bio
