M/S.Trupti Enterprises PVT.LTD,Idco vs. Chairman Cbeic,North Block
Facts
The Petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the action of Opposite Party No. 3, the Superintendent, Bhubaneswar IV Circle, Bhubaneswar, in not activating the GST portal for the Petitioner to operate. The Petitioner was issued a show cause notice (SCN) dated January 7, 2021, requiring appearance on January 5, 2021, which was two days prior to the date of the notice. The SCN also stated that the Petitioner's registration would be suspended from the date of the SCN itself. The Petitioner contended that this action was illegal and arbitrary.
Held
The Court held that the show cause notice (SCN) dated January 7, 2021, suffered from a non-application of mind. This was evident from the fact that the date of appearance mentioned in the SCN (January 5, 2021) was prior to the date of the SCN itself (January 7, 2021). Furthermore, the SCN stated that the registration would be suspended from the date of the SCN, which was also illogical given the prior appearance date. Consequently, the Court set aside the SCN and all consequential actions taken pursuant thereto. The Court directed the Opposite Parties to activate the portal and revive the Petitioner's registration not later than March 8, 2021. The principle established is that procedural irregularities, particularly those indicating a lack of application of mind in issuing statutory notices, can render such notices and subsequent actions invalid.
Key Issues
1. Whether the show cause notice dated January 7, 2021, issued to the Petitioner is invalid due to a non-application of mind, specifically concerning the date of appearance being prior to the date of the notice and the suspension date being the same as the notice date? (Question of law) Petitioner's contention: The Petitioner argued that the SCN suffered from a clear non-application of mind, rendering it illegal and arbitrary. They pointed to the discrepancy in the dates as evidence of this lack of due consideration. Revenue's contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the Opposite Parties (Revenue).
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02.03.2021
Heard Mr. Damodar Pati, learned counsel for the Petitioner and Mr. Chimanka, learned counsel for Opposite Parties.
The present writ petition is against the illegal and arbitrary action of Opposite Party No.3 in not activating the portal of GST for enabling the Petitioner to operate.
Annexure-1 is a show cause notice (SCN) dated 7th January, 2021 addressed to the Petitioner requiring him to appear before the Superintendent, Bhubaneswar IV Circle, Bhubaneswar on 5th January, 2021 at 2:01 pm. This is an obvious case of non application of mind where the SCN is being issued two days after the date of appearance stating that the registration shall be suspended from the date of the SCN itself.
Since, on the face of it, the SCN suffers from non- application of mind, the said SCN as well as the consequential actions taken pursuant thereto are hereby set aside. W.P.(C) No.6714 of 2021
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The Opposite Parties will now activate the portal to revive the Petitioner’s registration not later than 8th March 2021. 6. The writ petition is disposed of in the above terms.
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