Vadakkoot Chackoo Devassy vs. Assistant State Tax Officer
Held
The Court found a violation of natural justice as the petitioner was not afforded time to reply and could not access notices due to cancelled registration. The impugned assessment order was set aside, and the matter was remanded for a fresh order after allowing the petitioner to file a reply and granting an opportunity of hearing.
Facts
The petitioner's GST registration was cancelled before notices in Form GST ASMT-10 and a show cause notice under Section 73 were uploaded to the portal. The notices were issued on consecutive days, and the petitioner claimed no physical copy was received and no time was granted to reply, leading to an ex-parte assessment order.
Key Issues
The key legal issues were the violation of natural justice due to lack of proper notice and opportunity to respond, and the validity of an assessment order passed when the taxpayer's registration was cancelled before notices were effectively served.
Sections Cited
Section 73, Rule 99(1)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH THURSDAY, THE 21ST DAY OF DECEMBER 2023 / 30TH AGRAHAYANA, 1945 WP(C) NO. 42265 OF 2023 PETITIONER/S: VADAKKOOT CHACKOO DEVASSY, AGED 79 YEARS S/O. LATE V.L. CHACKOO, VADUKKOOTT HOUSE, PAVARATTY P.O, THRISSUR DISTRICT. PROPRIETOR OF SADHU HARDWARE, DOOR NO.472, PAVARATTY P.O, THRISSUR DISTRICT, PIN – 680507. BY ADVS. K.J.ABRAHAM ARAVINDAKSHAN K.R. NIKHIL JOHN RESPONDENT/S: 1 ASSISTANT STATE TAX OFFICER, STATE GST DEPARTMENT, TAX PAYER SERVICES CIRCLE, MINI CIVIL STATION, CHAVAKAD, THRISSUR DISTRICT, PIN - 680004 2 CENTRAL BOARD OF INDIRECT TAXES AND CUSTOMS, REPRESENTED BY PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER (GST), GST POLICY WING, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI, PIN - 110001 3 THE GOODS AND SERVICE TAX COUNCIL, 5TH FLOOR, TOWER II, JEEVAN BHARATI BUILDING, JANPATH ROAD, CANNAUGHT PLACE, NEW DELHI- 110001. REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRPERSON 4 STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, FINANCE DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT, PIN - 695001
WP(C) NO. 42265 OF 2023 2 5 UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY SECRETARY (REVENUE), MINISTRY OF FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, NOR
The judgment continues below.
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