Vajra Associates vs. The Assistant Commissioner Of Commercial Taxes
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORAL ORDER
The petitioner is aggrieved by the Adjudication Order dated 18.02.2025 [Annexure-A]. The Adjudication order is for the period between April 2020 and March 2021. This Adjudication Order is premised in the assertion that the Show Cause Notice is issued to the petitioner, but it has filed no response.
Sri Pradyumna Hejib, the learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the proceedings are concluded because of a mismatch between Forms HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:35174 GSTR-3B and GSTR-9 and that the petitioner could not respond to either the intimation in Form GST DRC-01A or to the Show Cause Notice in Form GST DRC-01. The learned counsel invites this Court’s attention to the following averment in the memorandum of petition. “The petitioner submits that due to the mistake of her auditor as well as her personal medical condition, she was unable to take effective steps to represent and file detailed reply to the show cause notice issued by the Respondent. Therefore, the petitioner could not file her statement of objections or produce any supporting documents before the Respondent authority. Further, as submitted in the foregoing, the Petitioner was unaware of the passing of the Adjudication Order since she was not conversant with the GST portal”.
Sri Pradyumna Hejib also submits that the Board Circulars dated 27.12.2022 and 17.07.2023 are issued covering the subject tax period HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:35174 which envisage an opportunity to a Registered Taxable Person [RTP] to produce documents to establish the genuineness of the transactions even if those are not declared by the supplier.
Sri K Hema Kumar, a learned Additional Government Advocate for the respondent, is heard for the disposal of the petition examining whether the petitioner is entitled to another reasonable opportunity. The respondent has referred to the Show Cause Notice in GST DRC-01 dated 26.11.2024 being uploaded on the common portal according to the Act without mentioning the other modes of communication of the Show Cause Notice. The respondent has also referred to the opportunities of personal hearing being extended to the petitioner on 20.01.2025, 04.02.2025 and 10.02.2025 observing that the petitioner has not availed these opportunities but without further details of the opportunity so extended. HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:35174
The petitioner contends that the mismatch between Forms GSTR-3B and GSTR – 9 can be explained with the support of the documents, and certificates as permissible in terms of the Board Circulars. The circumstances asserted by the petitioner and the terms of the Circular persuade this Court to opine that the petitioner must have another opportunity, and hence, the following:
ORDER
The petition is allowed and the Adjudication Order dated 18.02.2025 [Annexure-A] is quashed subject to the following terms. [a] The proceedings are restored to the respondent for due consideration subject to the petitioner depositing 10% of the tax in demand by 12.10.2026 HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:35174 subject to the outcome in the restored proceedings.
[b] The petitioner is permitted to file, along with the certified copy of this Order, the copies of the documents to show the genuineness of the transactions.
[c] The petitioner shall produce these documents by 12.10.2026 and the respondent shall consider these documents and then conclude the proceedings by a reasoned order. (B M SHYAM PRASAD) JUDGE
SA Ct:sr
Reproduced from the public record of the Karnataka High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.