Lsr Infrastructures vs. Union Of INDIA And Others

Facts

The petitioner, LSR Infrastructure, 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, specifically in the 'View Additional Notices and Orders' tab, did not constitute proper service. The revenue, represented by the Union of India and others, was the respondent. The core of the dispute revolved around the interpretation of Section 169 read with Section 146 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, concerning the modes of service of notices and orders. The procedural history indicates that this issue was not novel and had been addressed by the same High Court in previous judgments.

Held

The High Court held that the question raised in the present writ petition was no longer res integra and stood concluded by previous judgments of the same Court. Specifically, the Court referred to its own decision in CWP-27139-2025, Luxmi Traders v. Union Territory of Chandigarh and Others, and a subsequent clarification in CWP-15601-2026, The Amar Cooperative LC Society Ltd. v. State of Haryana and Others, decided on 23.07.2026. Based on these prior pronouncements, which presumably addressed the issue of service through the GST portal, the Court found the present case to be squarely covered. Therefore, the Court disposed of the instant writ petition in the same terms as the aforementioned judgments. The specific operative directions or relief granted would be those stipulated in the Luxmi Traders and Amar Cooperative LC Society Ltd. judgments, which are not detailed in this excerpt but would have addressed the validity of service and consequential actions.

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 Contention: The petitioner argued that such an upload did not constitute proper service as per the relevant provisions of the GST Act. The petitioner relied on the principle that service must be effected in a manner that ensures actual receipt or a legally recognized method of deemed service, which they contended was not met by simply uploading to a portal tab. Revenue's Contention: The respondents (Union of India and others) contended that the uploading of notices and orders on the GST portal, as per the established procedure, constitutes valid service. They likely relied on the interpretation of Section 169 and Section 146 of the GST Act, possibly referencing earlier judicial pronouncements that validated such methods of service. The judgment notes that the parties were 'ad idem' that the issue was concluded by prior judgments.