M/S Origins Advertising PVT. LTD. Thru. Auth. Signatory Mr. Himanshu Awasthi vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Institutional Finance,Lko. And Others
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, M/s Origins Advertising Pvt. Ltd., challenged an order dated 10.08.2023 passed under Section 74 of the GST Act and a subsequent appellate order dated 08.11.2024 that dismissed their appeal. The petitioner contended that the SIB report, which formed the basis of the initial order, was never supplied to them. Furthermore, they argued that no notice was served for the appeal hearing, leading to their unawareness of the proceedings and inability to present their case. The petitioner relied on previous judgments from the High Court in support of their claims regarding procedural fairness.
Held
The Court held that the appellate order dated 08.11.2024 was liable to be quashed. The Court found merit in the petitioner's contention that they were not provided with adequate opportunity of hearing, as evidenced by the non-service of notice for the appeal hearing. The Court relied on its previous judgment in M/s Archita Tour and Travels and another vs State of U.P. and others, which also dealt with the issue of non-grant of hearing. Consequently, the appellate order was quashed. The matter was remanded back to the appellate authority to pass a fresh order after providing the petitioner with adequate opportunity of hearing. The parties were also granted liberty to raise the issue of non-service of the SIB report before the appellate authority, which the authority was directed to consider.
Key Issues
1. Whether the order dated 10.08.2023, passed under Section 74 of the GST Act, is vitiated due to the non-supply of the SIB report to the petitioner? (Question of law and fact). 2. Whether the appellate order dated 08.11.2024 is liable to be quashed for non-service of notice of hearing on the petitioner, thereby denying them an opportunity to appeal? (Question of law and fact). Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner argued that the non-supply of the SIB report violated principles of natural justice. They further contended that the dismissal of their appeal was illegal as they were never notified of the hearing date, preventing them from presenting their case. They relied on the judgments in M/s Lari Almira House vs State of U.P. and M/s Sunil Kumar Khare Contractor vs State of U.P. and others. Revenue's arguments: The judgment records no specific arguments from the respondent/revenue.
Sections Cited
Section 74
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:12562 Court No. - 7 Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 100 of 2025 Petitioner :- M/S Origins Advertising Pvt. Ltd. Thru. Auth. Signatory Mr. Himanshu Awasthi Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Institutional Finance,Lko. And Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Pushpila Bisht,Jai Priya Swapnil Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Pankaj Bhatia,J.
Heard learned Counsel for the petitioner as well as learned Standing Counsel.
The present petition has been filed challenging the order dated 10.08.2023 passed against the petitioner under Section 74 of the GST Act as well as the order dated 08.11.2024, whereby the appeal was dismissed.
The contention of the Counsel for the petitioner is that the SIB report based upon which the order was passed, was never supplied to the petitioner. It is further argued that no notice was ever served upon the petitioner fixing a date for hearing of appeal, as such, the petitioner had no knowledge of hearing of the appeal and, therefore, he could not appeal. Reliance is placed upon the judgment of this Court in the case of M/s Lari Almira House vs State of U.P. (Writ Tax No.1569 of 2022: Decided on 12.04.2023 and in the case of M/s Sunil Kumar Khare Contractor vs State of U.P. and others: 2025:AHC-LKO:7940. 4. Considering the fact that non grant of hearing was considered by this Court in the case of M/s Archita Tour and Travels and another vs State of U.P. and others: 2024:AHC-LKO:68213 and following the said judgment, the appellate order dated 08.11.2024 is quashed. The writ petition is allowed.
The matter is remanded back to the appellate authority to pass fresh order after providing adequate opportunity of hearing, in accordance with law.
The parties would be at liberty to canvass before the appellate authority with regard to non-service of SIB report as has been argued before this Court. In case the parties approaches for the same, the appellate authority shall consider and pass appropriate orders also in addition to other grounds that may be raised by the petitioner before the appellate authority. Order Date :- 3.3.2025 akverma ASHOK KUMAR VERMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench
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.