Sadhna Kohli vs. Sales Tax Officer Class Ii, Avato Ward 80 & Anr.
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The petitioner, Sadhna Kohli, challenged an order dated 15.12.2023 passed by the adjudicating authority under Section 73 of the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for the tax period July 2017 to March 2018. This order was issued pursuant to a Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 26.09.2023, to which the petitioner did not respond. The petitioner claimed she did not receive the SCN, her access to the GST portal was limited due to GST registration cancellation, and the SCN was not readily accessible under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab. She sought an opportunity to respond to the SCN and for the matter to be remanded.
Held
The Court held that the petitioner was not afforded proper notice of the SCN. It acknowledged that at the material time, show cause notices were placed under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab and were not readily accessible, a situation that has since been remedied by redesigning the GST portal. The Court relied on its previous decisions in M/s ACE Cardiopathy Solutions Private Limited v. Union of India & Ors. and Kamla Vohra v. Sales Tax Officer Class II, which dealt with similar issues of accessibility of notices on the GST portal. Consequently, the impugned order dated 15.12.2023 was set aside. The petitioner was granted two weeks to file a reply to the SCN along with supporting documents. The adjudicating authority was directed to consider the reply and pass a fresh order after providing the petitioner an opportunity to be heard. The issue of the petitioner's GST registration cancellation was noted as a factor contributing to limited portal access.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioner was afforded proper notice of the Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 26.09.2023, considering its placement under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab on the GST portal, which the petitioner claims was not readily accessible, particularly given the cancellation of her GST registration at the material time? Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner contended that she did not receive the SCN and therefore could not respond. She argued that her access to the portal was limited due to the cancellation of her GST registration and that the SCN was not easily discoverable as it was placed under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab, which she did not have occasion to access. She relied on this Court's decisions in M/s ACE Cardiopathy Solutions Private Limited v. Union of India & Ors. and Kamla Vohra v. Sales Tax Officer Class II. Revenue's arguments: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondents (Sales Tax Officer Class II, AVATO Ward 80 & Anr.).
Sections Cited
Section 73
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
W.P. (C) 10373/2024 $~66 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
%
Date of Decision : 11.09.2024
+ W.P.(C) 10373/2024 & CM APPLN No.52754/2024
SADHNA KOHLI .....Petitioner
Through: Mr Preetam Singh, Advocate.
versus
SALES TAX OFFICER CLASS II, AVATO WARD 80 & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr Udit Malik, ASC and Mr Vishal Chanda, Advocate for R1 & 2. Mr.Rajeev Aggarwal, ASC, Mr.Shubham Goel, and Mr Mayank Kamra, Advocates. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIBHU BAKHRU HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN DATTA
VIBHU BAKHRU, J. (ORAL)
The petitioner impugns an order dated 15.12.2023 (hereafter the impugned order) passed by the adjudicating authority under Section 73 of the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereafter the DGST Act) for the tax period from July 2017 to March 2018. 2. The impugned order was passed pursuant to the Show Cause Notice dated 26.09.2023 (hereafter the SCN). The petitioner did not respond to the SCN. Consequently, the impugned order was passed confirming the demand as proposed in terms of the SCN. W.P. (C) 10373/2024 3. In the aforesaid context, the petitioner also prays that the petitioner may be afforded one more opportunity to respond to the SCN and the matter be remanded to the adjudicating authority to decide afresh.
The petitioner claims that she did not receive the SCN and therefore, could not respond to the same. The petitioner also states that her access to the portal was limited as the GST registration was cancelled at the material time. In addition, the petitioner states that the SCN was not readily accessible on the GST portal because it was placed under a tab of ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ and the petitioner has no occasion to access the same.
Concededly, the aforesaid issue is covered by the decisions of this Court in M/s ACE Cardiopathy Solutions Private Limited v. Union of India & Ors.: Neutral Citation No.2024:DHC:4108-DB as well as Kamla Vohra v. Sales Tax Officer Class II: Neutral Citation No.2024:DHC:5108- DB.
At the material time, the show cause notices were placed under the tab ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ and were not readily accessible. This Court is informed that the said issue has since been remedied and the GST portal has been redesigned to place the notices as well as additional notices and orders under the menu item ‘View Notices and Orders’. Thus, now a user can view both tabs ‘Notices and Orders’ and ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ on the same page. However, it is not disputed that at the material time of issuance of the SCN, the tab ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ was not placed in a position which would invite the taxpayer’s attention to the
W.P. (C) 10373/2024 said tab.
In view of the above, the present petition is allowed. The impugned order is set aside.
The petitioner may file a reply to the SCN along with all relevant documents relied upon by her within a period of two weeks from date. The adjudicating authority shall consider the same and pass an appropriate order after affording the petitioner an opportunity to be heard.
The present petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms. Pending application also stands disposed of.
VIBHU BAKHRU, J
SACHIN DATTA, J SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 M
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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.