M/S Singh Beverages vs. State Of Uttar Pradesh And Another

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Singh Beverages, challenged a show cause notice dated 28.11.2023 and an order dated 17.04.2024 passed by the Commercial Tax Officer, State Tax, Sector-2, Bareilly, under Section 73 of the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. The demand was created for the Financial Year 2018-19. The petitioner contended that the notices and order were uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal, not the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, making them unaware of the proceedings and preventing them from appearing or challenging the order within the limitation period. The respondent, State of Uttar Pradesh, did not dispute these contentions.

Held

The Court held that the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of doubt regarding the due communication of the show cause notice and order. The reasoning was based on the fact that the notices and order were uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal, which the petitioner claimed they were unaware of, preventing them from participating in the proceedings or seeking timely redressal. This was consistent with the Court's previous decision in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. & 2 others. The Court found no useful purpose in keeping the petition pending or relegating the petitioner to statutory remedies, especially since the disputed amount was already deposited. The ratio decidendi is that non-compliance with the prescribed method of communication on the GST portal, leading to an assessee's lack of awareness and inability to respond, warrants relief. The Court quashed the impugned show cause notice and order and directed the Assessing Officer to issue a fresh notice to the petitioner with at least 15 days' clear notice in accordance with law, after which further proceedings would take place.

Key Issues

1. Whether the uploading of the show cause notice and order on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal, instead of the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, constitutes due communication to the petitioner under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? The petitioner argued that this manner of uploading prevented them from being aware of the proceedings and thus unable to respond or seek remedy within the prescribed time. They relied on the High Court's decision in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. & 2 others. The respondent, through their counsel, did not dispute the factual contention regarding the uploading of notices and orders on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab. They also acknowledged that the issue was covered by the judgment in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd.