Ms Chaudhary Cement vs. State Of Haryana And Others

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Chaudhari Cement, filed a writ petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the validity of service of notices and orders. The core of the dispute revolved around whether uploading a notice or order-in-original on the common portal, under the 'View Additional Notices and Orders' section of the GST website (www.gst.gov.in), constituted proper service on the petitioner. This was in the context of Section 169 read with Section 146 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner sought a determination on the legality of this mode of communication by the revenue authorities.

Held

The Court held that the issue raised in the writ petition was squarely covered by previous judgments rendered by the same Court. Specifically, the Court referred to its decision in Luxmi Traders v. Union Territory of Chandigarh and Others, and a further clarification in The Amar Cooperative LC Society Ltd. v. State of Haryana and Others. The reasoning in these prior judgments, which addressed the validity of service through the GST portal under Section 169 of the CGST Act, was deemed applicable. Consequently, the instant writ petition was disposed of in the same terms as the aforementioned judgments. The operative direction was to dispose of the petition in line with the precedent, implying that the service through the portal was considered valid as per the established legal position.

Key Issues

1. Whether uploading of a notice or order-in-original on the common portal, under the 'View Additional Notices and Orders' section of www.gst.gov.in, amounts to proper service of it on the petitioner, in view of Section 169 read with Section 146 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? The petitioner argued that the uploading of notices and orders on the GST portal, without any other form of communication, might not constitute proper service. The revenue, represented by the Additional Advocate General, Haryana, contended that such uploading, as per the relevant provisions of the GST Act, is a valid mode of service. The parties were ad idem that the present case was no longer res integra and stood concluded by previous judgments of the Court.