Garg Traders vs. Union Of INDIA And Another

Held

The Court held that the question raised in the present writ petition is squarely covered by previous judgments of the High Court. Specifically, the Court referred to its decision in CWP-27139-2025, Luxmi Traders v. Union Territory of Chandigarh and Others, and the subsequent clarification in CWP-15601-2026, The Amar Cooperative LC Society Ltd. v. State of Haryana and Others. Based on these precedents, the Court found that the issue of whether uploading notices and orders on the GST portal constitutes proper service has already been decided. Consequently, the instant writ petition was disposed of in the same terms as the aforementioned judgments. The operative direction was to dispose of the writ petition in line with the concluded judgments, implying that the petitioner's challenge was resolved based on the established legal position.

Facts

The petitioner, Garg Traders, filed a writ petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the validity of service of a notice and an order-in-original. The petitioner contended that uploading these documents on the common GST portal under the 'View Additional Notices and Orders' tab did not constitute proper service. The revenue, Union of India and another, was the respondent. The tax period is not specified. The core of the dispute revolves around the interpretation of Section 169 read with Section 146 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, concerning the method of service of official communications. The procedural history indicates that this issue has been previously adjudicated by the same High Court.

Key Issues

1. Whether uploading of a notice and an order-in-original in the 'View Additional Notices and Orders' tab on the common portal (www.gst.gov.in) amounts to proper service on the petitioner, in view of Section 169 read with Section 146 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner argued that mere uploading on the portal does not constitute proper service as per the relevant provisions of the GST Act. Revenue's Argument: The revenue contended that the issue is no longer res integra and has been decided by previous judgments of the High Court. They relied on the High Court's judgments in CWP-27139-2025, Luxmi Traders v. Union Territory of Chandigarh and Others, and CWP-15601-2026, The Amar Cooperative LC Society Ltd. v. State of Haryana and Others.