Poornesh. H. R. vs. The Commissioner Of Commercial Taxes
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORAL ORDER
The petitioner is before this Court seeking the following prayers: "(i) Issue a writ of certiorari to quash the adjudication order dated 22.06.2023 passed under Section 73(9) of the CGST/KGST Acts by Respondent No.2 (Annexure F1), and the summary of said order issued on the same date in Form GST DRC-07 (Annexure - F2); (ii) Issue a writ of certiorari to quash the attachment notice dated 23.02.2024 issued under Section 79(1)(c) of the CGST/KGST Acts in Form GST DRC-13 (Annexure - G); (iii) Issue a writ of certiorari to quash the letters dated 18.07.2025 issued by Respondent No.2 to the Tahsildar and the Regional Transport Commissioner (Annexures - H1 and H2); (iv) Issue a writ of certiorari to quash the show cause notice dated 27.04.2023 issued under Section 73(1) of the CGST/KGST Acts (Annexure E); OR issue a writ of mandamus directing Respondent No.2 to restore the proceedings to the stage of show-cause notice dated 27.04.2023 (produced as Annexure - E) and to afford the Petitioner a reasonable opportunity of hearing in accordance with law; (v) Pass such other or further orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interests of justice and equity." HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:34006
Heard Miss. Prajwala Sathyaprakash, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, Sri.K.Hema Kumar, learned AGA appearing for the respondents and have perused the material on record.
The petitioner is said to be a registered dealer under the Goods and Services Act, 2017 [hereafter referred to as 'Act' for short], engaged in the business of executing electrical infrastructure works for various departments and public bodies in the State of Karnataka. For the financial year 2018-19, the petitioner is said to have executed various rural electrification works, pursuant to certain contracts entered into in the pre-Goods and Services Tax era. Comes 2022, an audit notice under Section 65 of the Act emerges, the audit findings are furnished to the petitioner as obtaining under Section 65(6) of the Act read with Rule 101(4) of the Rules. A pre-show cause notice intimation is issued to the petitioner under section 73(5) of the Act and later, a show cause notice under section 73(1) of the Goods and Services Tax Act. A final adjudication order is passed under section 73, attachment notice follows to the petitioner's banker and the Tahasildar seeking details of land HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:34006 and immovable assets. All the aforesaid are said to have happened ex parte. The proceedings have been ex parte right from the inception. The petitioner is said to have come to know of the proceedings only when the attachment notice is sent to the banker. Therefore, the petitioner then calls in question the impugned demand of Rs.95,46,390/- on the basis of an audit report and a show cause notice in a determination which has happened ex parte.
Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would reiterate the grounds urged in the petition laying emphasis upon the demand being made in a proceeding which is admittedly ex parte.
Learned counsel appearing for the respondents would though seek to refute the submission of the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, is not in a position to dispute the factum of the proceedings being ex parte.
In the light of the admitted fact of the proceedings being ex parte, without going into the merit of the claims of the HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:34006 petitioner, I deem it appropriate to remit the matter back to the hands of the competent authority from the stage of submission of a reply to the show cause notice. As a consequence thereof, the proceedings instituted post the issuance of show cause notice, would all stand obliterated.
For the aforesaid reasons, the following: O R D E R
[i] Writ Petition is allowed in part.
[ii] Adjudication order dated 22.06.2023 passed under Section 73(9) of the CGST/KGST Acts by Respondent No.2 (Annexure F1), and the summary of said order issued on the same date in Form GST DRC-07 (Annexure - F2), stands quashed.
[iii] Attachment notice dated 23.02.2024 issued under Section 79(1)(c) of the CGST/KGST Acts in Form GST DRC-13 (Annexure - G), stands quashed. HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:34006 [iv] Letters dated 18.07.2025 issued by Respondent No.2 to the Tahsildar and the Regional Transport Commissioner (Annexures - H1 and H2), stands quashed.
[v] The proceedings before respondent No.2 are restored to the stage of submission of a reply to the show cause notice dated 27.04.2023. The petitioner shall now, in the next four weeks from the date of receipt of the copy of the order, submit the reply to respondent No.2 after which the respondent No.2 shall take the issue to its logical conclusion.
Ordered accordingly. (M.NAGAPRASANNA) JUDGE
CBC List No.: 1 Sl No.: 59 CT:SS
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.