M/S Green Urja Private Limited vs. State Of Uttar Pradesh And Another

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Green Urja Private Limited, is challenging a show cause notice dated December 20, 2023, and an ex parte demand order dated April 25, 2024, passed by the Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, Noida, under Section 73 of the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. The demand pertains to the Financial Year 2018-19. The petitioner claims they were unaware of these notices and the order because they were uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal, not the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, preventing them from appearing before the authority or challenging the order within the limitation period.

Held

The Court allowed the writ petition, quashing the show cause notice dated December 20, 2023, and the ex parte demand order dated April 25, 2024. The Court relied on its previous decision in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. & 2 others, which held that uploading notices and orders on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab instead of the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab meant the assessee was not properly communicated. The reasoning was that the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of doubt as the impugned order was not reflecting in the 'view notices and orders' tab, and no material existed to reject this contention. 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 in deposit. The ratio decidendi is that proper communication of statutory notices and orders is essential for due process, and uploading on an obscure tab does not fulfill this requirement. The Court directed the Assessing Officer to issue a fresh notice of at least 15 days to the petitioner in the prescribed manner, after which further proceedings could take place.

Key Issues

1. Whether the uploading of a show cause notice and demand order 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 impacting their ability to respond and seek remedies 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 on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab, making them unaware of the proceedings. They relied on the High Court's decision in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. & 2 others and M/s Mohini Traders Vs. State of U.P. and Another. Respondent's contention: The Department, represented by the Standing Counsel, did not dispute the factual contention 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. (Supra) and that the GST Network might be responsible for portal functionalities.