Naseeb Impex Private Limited vs. Sales Tax Officer Class Ii Avato Ward 62 & Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The Petitioner, Naseeb Impex Private Limited, filed a writ petition challenging an order dated August 5, 2024, passed by the Sales Tax Officer, Class II, AVATO Ward 2, Delhi, under Section 73 of the CGST/DGST Act. The impugned order was based on a show cause notice (SCN) dated May 24, 2024, alleging incorrect disclosure of tax liability for the Financial Year 2019-20. The Petitioner failed to file a reply to the SCN by the due date of June 24, 2024, and missed the personal hearing fixed for June 26, 2024. The Petitioner's counsel submitted that this failure was due to the Petitioner's wife undergoing prolonged cancer treatment, who subsequently passed away on December 13, 2024.
Held
The Court, taking a compassionate view of the Petitioner's circumstances, held that an opportunity ought to be granted to the Petitioner to file a reply to the show cause notice dated May 24, 2024. The Court reasoned that the Petitioner's inability to respond was due to a grave personal tragedy. Accordingly, the impugned order dated August 5, 2024, was set aside. The Court explicitly noted that none of the issues on merits were considered. The Petitioner was directed to file the reply within 30 days, after which a personal hearing would be communicated. The ratio decidendi is that procedural lapses due to unavoidable personal hardship may warrant a compassionate reconsideration by the court, leading to the setting aside of ex-parte orders to allow for a proper adjudication on merits.
Key Issues
1. Whether the Petitioner should be granted an opportunity to file a reply to the show cause notice, despite missing the stipulated deadlines, in light of the extenuating personal circumstances. Petitioner's contention: The Petitioner argued that the failure to file a reply to the SCN was solely attributable to the critical medical condition and subsequent demise of his wife, which prevented him from attending to the matter. They sought a compassionate view from the Court to allow them to present their case. Revenue's contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the Revenue or the State in response to the Petitioner's plea. The focus of the Court's decision was on the Petitioner's submission regarding personal hardship.
Sections Cited
Section 73
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
O R D E R % 21.02.2025
This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
The present writ petition has been filed by the Petitioner- Naseeb Impex Pvt. Ltd. under Article 226 of the Constitution of India inter alia seeking to set aside the impugned order under Section 73 of the CGST/DGST Act dated 5th August, 2024 passed by Sales Tax Officer, Class Il, AVATO Ward 2, Zone 2, Delhi.
The show cause notice (hereinafter ‘SCN’) dated 24th May, 2024 was issued by the Respondent alleging that the Petitioner did not disclose the correct tax liability when he had filed its GST return for the Financial Year 2019-20. Vide the said SCN, the last date for filing a reply to the SCN was 24th June, 2024 and the personal hearing was fixed on 26th June, 2024. 4. It is submitted by ld. Counsel for the Petitioner that at the said point in This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 01/07/2025 at 21:35:49
time, the Petitioner’s wife was suffering from cancer and was undergoing prolonged treatment in Kailash Hospital. It is stated that she finally passed away on 13th December, 2024. It was due to this reason the reply to the show cause notice could not be filed. As mentioned above, the impugned order has been passed on 5th August, 2024. 5. Taking a compassionate view of the matter, this Court is of the opinion that an opportunity ought to be given to the Petitioner to file a reply to the show cause notice dated 24th May, 2024. Let the reply be filed within 30 days. Thereafter, the personal hearing shall be communicated to the Petitioner as also to the ld. Counsel at the following email address: Contact Details of Taxpayer ●Mr. Pawan Partap ( Mob. No. 9873001691). ●Address - H. No. 263, Sector - 15A, Near DND Flyover, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh - 201301. Contact details of the Counsel :- ●Pulkit Verma (Mob. No. 9716694879) ●Address - 504, Ansal Vika eep Building, Nirman Vihar, New Delhi - 110092. 6. Accordingly, the impugned order dated 5th August, 2024 is set aside. None of the issues on merits have been considered by the Court.
The petition is disposed of in the above terms. PRATHIBA M. SINGH, J. RAJNEESH KUMAR GUPTA, J. FEBRUARY 21, 2025/dk/am This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 01/07/2025 at 21:35:49
Reproduced from the public record of the Delhi High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.