M/S Shree Adishakti Traders vs. State Of U.P. And Another

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Shree Adishakti Traders, filed a writ petition challenging an order dated 29.12.2023 passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Sector-12, State GST, UPGST, Kanpur, under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner contended that the notices issued under Section 73 were uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST Portal, not the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab. Consequently, the petitioner claims to have been unaware of the notices and the order, preventing them from appearing before the authority or challenging the order within the limitation period. The respondent, State of U.P. and Another, did not dispute these contentions.

Held

The Court allowed the writ petition, quashing and setting aside the impugned order dated 29.12.2023. The Court followed its previous decision in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. & 2 others, which held that uploading notices and orders under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab instead of the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab did not constitute proper communication. The reasoning was that the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of doubt as the impugned order was not reflecting under the 'view notices and orders' tab, preventing them from seeking appropriate remedies within the limitation period. The Court found no useful purpose in keeping the petition pending or relegating the petitioner to statutory remedies, especially since the disputed amount was lying in deposit. The operative direction was for the Assessing Officer to issue a fresh notice of at least 15 days clear notice to the petitioner in the manner prescribed by law, after which further proceedings would take place.

Key Issues

1. Whether the uploading of notices and orders on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal, instead of the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, constitutes proper communication to the assessee, thereby triggering the limitation period for challenge? The petitioner argued that the non-compliance with the prescribed method of uploading notices and orders on the GST portal, specifically uploading them under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab instead of the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, rendered the communication invalid. This prevented them from being aware of the proceedings and filing a timely challenge, thus violating their right to natural justice. They relied on the High Court's decision in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. & 2 others. The respondent, through learned Standing Counsel, did not dispute the factual contention regarding the tab where the notices and orders were uploaded. They also acknowledged that the issue was covered by the judgment in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd.