Ranjit Dutta Vs State of Assam And 2 Ors. (Gauhati High Court)
In a ruling impacting tax administration under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the Gauhati High Court has set aside a summary show cause notice and a subsequent summary order issued by the state tax authorities. The court reiterated that issuing a summary of a show cause notice is not a valid substitute for a formal show cause notice as mandated by law.
The case involved a petition filed by Ranjit Dutta against the State of Assam and tax officials. The petitioner contended that the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax had issued a summary of show cause notice (in GST DRC-01) on September 28, 2023, without issuing a proper show cause notice under Section 73(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act). Following this, a summary of the order (in GST DRC-07) was issued on December 30, 2023, allegedly without passing a detailed order under Section 73(9) of the CGST Act and without granting the petitioner an opportunity of hearing, despite it being sought.
During the court proceedings, both the counsel for the petitioner and the standing counsel for the Finance and Taxation Department, Assam, acknowledged that the issue raised in the present petition was similar to one already addressed by a Coordinate Bench of the Gauhati High Court. They referred to the judgment and order passed in the case of Construction Catalysers Pvt. Ltd. Vs. the State of Assam and 2 others (WP(C) No. 3912/2024 and connected petitions) on September 26, 2024. Both sides agreed that the determination made in the Construction Catalysers Pvt. Ltd. case should cover the present petition.
