Koppula Madhusekhar vs. The Assistant Commissioner(St)

Held

The Court set aside the assessment order, providing the petitioner another opportunity to present their contentions before the 1st respondent. This was conditional on the petitioner depositing 20% of the disputed tax within six weeks. The 1st respondent was directed to issue a fresh notice, consider the petitioner's explanation, and pass new orders after affording an opportunity of being heard.

Facts

The petitioner, a registered GST dealer, challenged an assessment order passed by the 1st respondent for the period April 2022 to March 2023. This order was issued after the petitioner failed to respond to a show cause notice regarding discrepancies in their filed returns. The petitioner contended that the notice and order were only uploaded to the portal and not served through other specified modes.

Key Issues

The primary legal issue concerned the validity of service of show cause notices and assessment orders solely by uploading them on the GST portal under Section 169(1)(b). The Court also considered whether to grant a fresh opportunity to the petitioner despite their initial non-response and delay in approaching the court.