Arpita Motors vs. Appellate Authority

Held

The Court held that the impugned orders dated 20.12.2024 and 22.11.2023 were unsustainable. Following the law laid down by the Delhi High Court in *Anhad Impex* and the coordinate bench of this Court in *Agrawal Wheels Pvt. Ltd.*, the Court found that the manner of service of the notice rendered the subsequent order invalid. The ratio decidendi is that if a notice is not effectively served upon the assessee and is only available on the portal under a less conspicuous heading, it vitiates the subsequent proceedings. The Court quashed the impugned orders and remitted the matter to the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Jurisdictional Sagar, Circle Sagar, for passing a fresh order after affording the petitioner an opportunity of a personal hearing. No issue was expressly left undecided.

Facts

The petitioner, Arpita Motors, filed a writ petition challenging a show cause notice and a final order passed under Section 74 of the GST Act. The petitioner contended that they did not receive the notice as it was displayed on the GST portal under the 'View Additional Notice and Orders' section, which they claimed did not come to their knowledge. The impugned orders were passed by the Appellate Authority and others. The specific tax period and the amount in dispute are not explicitly stated in the judgment. The procedural history involves the issuance of the show cause notice and the subsequent final order, which are now being challenged before the High Court.

Key Issues

1. Whether the impugned order passed under Section 74 of the GST Act is unsustainable due to the petitioner not having received the show cause notice, as it was only available under the 'View Additional Notice and Orders' section on the GST portal? The petitioner argued that the notice did not come to their knowledge because it was not served through conventional means and was only accessible on the portal under a specific heading, rendering the subsequent order invalid. The petitioner relied on the decisions of the Delhi High Court in *Anhad Impex vs. Assistant Commissioner, Ward-16, Zone-2, Delhi and others* and this Court's own decision in *Agrawal Wheels Pvt. Ltd. vs. State of M.P. and another*. The revenue or State did not record any specific arguments in the judgment.