M/S Singh Transport Company vs. State Of U.P. And Another
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, M/s Singh Transport Company, filed a writ petition challenging an ex parte demand order dated 22.08.2024, issued by the Commercial Tax Officer, State Tax Jurisdiction Bareilly, under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for the Financial Year 2019-20. The petitioner argued that the impugned order failed to comply with the requirements of Section 75(6) of the Act, as it did not set out the relevant facts and the basis of the decision. The respondent, State of U.P., did not dispute that the issue was covered by a previous judgment of the Court in a similar matter. The ex parte order in the present case, similar to the one in the cited judgment, allegedly incorporated the show cause notice by reference without providing independent reasoning.
Held
The Court held that the ex parte demand order dated 22.08.2024, issued by the Commercial Tax Officer, State Tax Jurisdiction Bareilly, was unsustainable. Following the precedent set in M/s Hari Shanker Transport, the Court found that the order failed to comply with the mandatory requirements of Section 75(6) of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. This section requires the proper officer to set out the relevant facts and the basis of their decision in the order. The impugned order, like the one in the cited case, merely incorporated the show cause notice by reference without providing an independent and self-contained reasoning. The Court reasoned that even if no response was filed by the petitioner to the show cause notice, it was incumbent upon the authority to pass an order that clearly articulated the facts and the basis for the demand. Therefore, the order was quashed and set aside. The matter was remanded back to the respondent No. 2 to provide the petitioner with an opportunity to file a response to the show cause notice within four weeks, after which a fresh order in accordance with law was to be passed.
Key Issues
1. Whether the ex parte demand order dated 22.08.2024, issued under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is liable to be quashed and set aside for non-compliance with Section 75(6) of the Act? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner contended that the impugned order suffers from a procedural irregularity as it fails to meet the statutory requirement of Section 75(6) of the Act, which mandates that the proper officer, in his order, shall set out the relevant facts and the basis of his decision. The petitioner relied on the judgment in M/s Hari Shanker Transport Vs. Commissioner of Commercial Tax U.P. : Writ Tax No.606 of 2025, decided on 11.03.2025, which held that a similar order was unsustainable for lacking independent reasoning and merely referencing previous notices. Respondent's Contention: The respondent's counsel attempted to support the impugned order but did not dispute that the issue raised by the petitioner was covered by the precedent set in the M/s Hari Shanker Transport case.
Sections Cited
Section 73, Section 75(6)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:90795-DB Chief Justice's Court Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 2543 of 2025 Petitioner :- M/s Singh Transport Company Respondent :- State of U.P. and another Counsel for Petitioner :- Pranjal Shukla, Priyanshu Kesarwani Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,, Ankur Agarwal (S.C.) Hon'ble Arun Bhansali,Chief Justice Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra,J.
This writ petition is directed against the ex parte demand order dated 22.08.2024 issued by the Commercial Tax Officer, State Tax Juri iction Bareilly Sector-2, Bareilly (A) under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for the Financial Year 2019-20. 2. Learned counsel with reference to judgment in M/s Hari U.P. : Writ Tax No.606 of 2025, decided on 11.03.2025, made submissions that the order impugned does not fulfill the requirement of Section 75(6) of the Act and, therefore, the order impugned deserves to be quashed and set aside and the matter be remanded back.
Learned counsel appearing for the respondents attempted to support the order impugned, however, does not dispute that the issue as raised is covered by the judgment in the case of M/s Hari Shanker Transport (supra).
In the case of M/s Hari Shanker Transport (supra), this Court, after hearing the parties, came to the following conclusion:- "
A bare look at the order impugned dated 27.04.2024 passed under Section 73(9) of the Act reveals that the same only makes reference to issuance of two notices, the fact that they have not been responded to, and a demand has been raised.
The manner of passing of order dated 27.04.2024 falls foul of the requirements of Section 75(6) of the Act, which requires that 'the proper officer, in his order shall set out the relevant facts and the basis of his decision', the statutory requirements for passing an order by setting out relevant facts and basis for the decision are totally missing from the order dated 27.04.2024. Even if no response was filed to the notices issued under Sections 61 and 73 of the Act, it was incumbent on respondent no.2 to pass an order in compliance of the provisions of Section 75(6) of the Act, as a final order should be self contained and merely making reference to the previous notices while passing the said order does not suffice for making it a self contained order.
Consequently, the petition is allowed. The order dated 27.04.2024 (Annexure-6 to the writ petition) is quashed and set aside. The matter is remanded back to respondent no.2/Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, Sector-3, Sonbhadra to provide an opportunity of filing response to the show cause notice issued under Section 73 of the Act to the petitioner, which response shall be filed within a period of four weeks from today and thereafter, after providing opportunity of hearing, a fresh order in accordance with law be passed."
Admittedly, in the present case, the ex parte order dated 22.08.2024 also does not contain any reason and only the indication made in the show cause notice has been incorporated by reference and, therefore, the said order cannot be sustained.
Consequently, the writ petition is allowed.
The ex parte order dated 22.08.2024 (Annexure No. 4 to the writ petition) is quashed and set aside. The matter is remanded back to respondent No. 2, who shall provide an opportunity of filing response to the show cause notice issued under Section 73 of the Act to the petitioner, which response shall be filed within a period of four weeks from today and, thereafter, after providing opportunity of hearing, a fresh order in accordance with law be passed. Order Date :- 27.5.2025 Mukesh Pal/Pkb (Kshitij Shailendra, J) (Arun Bhansali, CJ) MUKESH PAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
Reproduced from the public record of the Allahabad High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.