Ajay Somani vs. Department Of Trade And Taxes & Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, Ajay Somani, filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court challenging an order dated 23.12.2023 passed by the adjudicating authority under Section 73 of the CGST Act/DGST Act. This order raised a demand of Rs. 12,58,080.60, including interest and penalty, for the financial year 2017-2018. The demand was based on a Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 24.09.2023. The petitioner contended that his GST registration was cancelled on 07.10.2022, and as he was not conducting business, he did not check the GST portal. Consequently, he claimed not to have received the SCN, as it was not issued through any other mode.
Held
The Court held that in the given circumstances, it was appropriate to set aside the impugned order dated 23.12.2023. The Court reasoned that the petitioner had not received the Show Cause Notice (SCN) due to his GST registration being cancelled and not actively monitoring the portal. This lack of proper notice prevented the petitioner from responding to the SCN. Therefore, to ensure fairness and provide an opportunity for the petitioner to present his case, the Court decided to grant him another chance. The adjudicating authority was requested to consider the petitioner's response to the SCN and pass an appropriate order expeditiously. The petition was disposed of on these terms.
Key Issues
1. Whether the impugned order dated 23.12.2023, passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act/DGST Act, is liable to be set aside on the grounds that the petitioner did not receive the Show Cause Notice (SCN)? Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner argued that his GST registration had been cancelled, and he was not carrying on business, thus not monitoring the GST portal. He contended that the SCN was not served through any other mode, and therefore, he did not receive it. This lack of notice, he claimed, vitiated the subsequent impugned order. Revenue's arguments: The judgment records that the learned counsel accepted notice on behalf of the respondents. No specific arguments were recorded for the revenue in the provided text.
Sections Cited
Section 73
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
O R D E R
Issue notice.
The learned counsel accepts notice on behalf of the respondents.
The petitioner has filed the present petition inter-alia impugning an order dated 23.12.2023 (hereafter the impugned order), passed by the adjudicating authority under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereafter CGST Act)/Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereafter DGST Act). In terms of the impugned order, a demand of Rs.12,58,080.60 has been raised including interest and penalty in respect of financial year 2017-2018. The impugned order was passed pursuant to a Show Cause Notice dated 24.09.2023 (hereafter the SCN).
It was the petitioner’s case that his GST registration was cancelled pursuant to his application dated 07.10.2022. The petitioner was not carrying 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 12/09/2024 at 12:23:19
on his business and therefore had no occasion to examine the GST portal. The petitioner also submits that the SCN was not issued by any other mode and therefore, he did not receive the same.
In the given circumstances, we consider it apposite to set aside the impugned order and grant another opportunity to the petitioner to respond to the SCN.
The petitioner may file his response to the SCN along with all the documents relied upon, within a period of two weeks from date.
In the event the petitioner does so, we request the adjudicating authority to consider the same and pass an appropriate order as expeditiously as possible.
The petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
VIBHU BAKHRU, J
SACHIN DATTA, J SEPTEMBER 04, 2024/cl 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 12/09/2024 at 12:23:19
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.