Sarada Refrigeration And Air Condition And Anr Vs State of Assam And 2 Ors (Gauhati High Court)
The Gauhati High Court considered a writ petition challenging a Summary of Show Cause Notice dated 18.12.2023 and an Order-in-Original dated 08.03.2024 issued under the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioners contended that Section 73(1) of the Act mandates issuance of a proper Show Cause Notice and that a Summary of Show Cause Notice in Form DRC-01 issued under Rule 142(1)(a) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 cannot substitute the statutory notice. The respondents raised the availability of an alternative remedy under Section 107 of the Act but accepted that the issue was covered by the Gauhati High Court’s earlier decision in Construction Catalysers Private Limited. The respondents further sought exclusion of the limitation period under Section 73(10), submitting that the defect was technical.
The Court held that the issue was squarely covered by its earlier judgment and reproduced the relevant findings. Referring to Section 73(1) and Section 73(3), the Court reiterated that the statement attached to the Summary of Show Cause Notice cannot be treated as the Show Cause Notice required under Section 73(1). It also considered the contention regarding authentication of documents and noted that the attachments to the Summary of the Show Cause Notice and Summary of the Order contained no authentication by the Proper Officer.
