Punjab Fusion Private Limited vs. State Of Haryana

Facts

The petitioner, Punjab Fusion Pvt. Ltd., 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, www.gst.gov.in, under the 'View Additional Notices and Orders' tab, did not constitute proper service. The revenue, represented by the State of Haryana and others, argued that if the petitioner had knowledge of the notice and contested the proceedings by filing a reply, the service by uploading could not be discarded. The dispute concerns the proper method of service of official communications under the GST Act.

Held

The Court held that service of a Show Cause Notice (SCN) upon the petitioner/assessee cannot be deemed sufficient merely on account of its uploading on the Common Portal, unless its receipt is acknowledged or a reply is filed. If an SCN is served only by uploading it on the Common Portal and an ex parte order-in-original is passed in the absence of a reply, the proceedings would stand restored to the stage of issuance of the SCN. The petitioner would then be at liberty to file a reply within four weeks, after which the Department must proceed after affording a hearing. In cases where the order-in-original is passed after contest and served only by uploading, the period of limitation for filing an appeal would not be triggered, and the assessee would have the right to file an appeal within four weeks. If appeals against such orders were dismissed on limitation, those orders would be set aside, and the appeals restored for hearing on merits. The Court relied on its previous decision in CWP-27139-2025 titled Luxmi Traders v/s Union Territory of Chandigarh and Others.

Key Issues

1. Whether uploading a notice and an order-in-original on the common GST portal amounts to proper service on the petitioner, in light of Section 169 read with Section 146 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that mere uploading of the notice and order-in-original on the GST portal does not constitute proper service. The judgment does not explicitly record the petitioner's specific arguments beyond this general contention. Revenue's Contention: The revenue contended that service of notice by uploading it on the Common Portal cannot be discarded if the person concerned had knowledge of it and contested the proceedings by filing a reply. In such scenarios, the show cause notice (SCN) cannot be deemed as not served upon the assessee. The revenue relied on the principle that knowledge and contest validate service even if the method is uploading.