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

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Krishna Traders, filed a writ petition challenging a show cause notice dated 15.09.2023 and an order dated 15.12.2023 passed by the Commercial Tax Officer, State Tax, Sector-Bharthana, Etawah, under Section 73 of the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. This order created a demand against the petitioner for the Financial Year 2017-18. The petitioner contended that the notice and order were uploaded on the GST portal under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab, not the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, making them unaware of the proceedings and unable to respond within the limitation period. The department, represented by the Standing Counsel, did not dispute these contentions and acknowledged that the issue was covered by a previous judgment of the High Court in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P.

Held

The Court allowed the writ petition, quashing the show cause notice dated 15.09.2023 and the order dated 15.12.2023. The Court's decision was based on the principle established in the case of Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. The reasoning was that the uploading of the notice and order under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab, rather than the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, prevented the petitioner from being aware of the proceedings and availing their remedies within the limitation period. The Court found merit in the petitioner's contention that they were not properly served. The ratio decidendi is that if statutory notices and orders are not communicated through the designated and accessible channels on the GST portal, the assessee is entitled to the benefit of doubt, and proceedings initiated based on such non-communication may be set aside. The Court directed the Assessing Officer to issue a fresh notice to the petitioner with at least 15 days' clear notice, in the manner prescribed by law, and to conduct further proceedings thereafter.

Key Issues

1. Whether the uploading of a show cause notice and consequential order under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab on the GST portal, instead of the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, constitutes proper communication to the assessee, thereby impacting their ability to respond within the prescribed limitation period, as contemplated under Section 73 of the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that the notices and order were not properly communicated as they were uploaded to the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab, which they were unaware of. This prevented them from appearing before the authority or challenging the order within the limitation period. They relied on the High Court's decision in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. and M/s Mohini Traders v. State of U.P. Respondent's Contention: The learned counsel for the Department did not dispute the petitioner's contentions regarding the uploading of notices and orders on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab. They acknowledged that the issue was covered by the judgment in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The Department also indicated that the web portal available to the assessing officer did not offer a choice to upload orders in a manner that would reflect under specific tabs visible to the assessee, suggesting the issue might lie with the GST Network.