In a recent ruling by the High Court, a directive was issued to the respondent to open the portal for the petitioner in a legal dispute. This development follows a case where the petitioner was unable to respond to proceedings due to issues with the portal. Stay informed about the latest proceedings in this case!
Facts
- The FAC has issued a Show Cause Notice dated 25.09.2023 proposing a demand of passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017.
- The Notice seeks to recover the alleged short payment of tax by ABC Pvt. Ltd.
- The Notice mentions discrepancies in the tax payments made by ABC Pvt. Ltd. for the period under review.
- ABC Pvt. Ltd. is required to provide a response to the Show Cause Notice within the stipulated time frame.
Arguments
- The Petitioner was unaware of the initiation of proceedings and could not respond to them.
- The Show Cause Notice was uploaded under ‘Additional Notices’ and not communicated through any other means.
- The Petitioner was not informed of the proceedings as it was only uploaded on the web portal.
- Reference to a similar case in the Madras High Court where communication headings were addressed.
- Manual copy provided by the respondent on the web portal was highlighted by learned counsel.
- The manual copy included information on viewing or downloading notices and demand orders issued by GST tax authorities.
Analysis
- In the judgment dated 31.07.2023 of the Madras High Court in W.P. No.22369/2023, a key issue was highlighted.
- The Madras High Court noted that the impugned orders were challenged primarily because the notices preceding them were placed in the wrong section of the petitioner’s Dashboard.
- The notices were supposed to be hosted in the ‘View Notices and Orders’ section, but instead, they were found in the ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ section.
- This discrepancy was a critical point of contention in the case.
- The petitioner claimed that had the notice been uploaded in the correct place, they would have seen it and replied to it to participate in the proceedings.
- The GST authorities provided another opportunity for the taxpayer to submit a reply and have a personal hearing according to Section 75(4) DGST Act.
- Despite repeated opportunities, no reply/explanation was received from the taxpayer, indicating their lack of response to the matter.
- The Proper Officer noted that the taxpayer did not file an online reply or appear in person despite multiple opportunities.
- Due to the lack of response, the tax authorities proceeded to create a demand ex-parte in accordance with Section 73(9) of the CGST/DGST Act, 2017.
- Notices and Orders were hosted in the petitioner’s dashboard for ‘Additional Notices and Orders’, leading to their failure to notice and respond to the Show Cause Notice.
- The Court has not considered or commented on the merits of either party’s contentions.
- Petitioner will be given an opportunity to respond to the Show Cause Notice.
- After Petitioner’s response, the Show Cause Notice will be re-adjudicated.
Decision
- Petition disposed off with specified terms.
- Respondent directed to open portal for Petitioner to file response to Show Cause Notice within 2 weeks.
- Rights and contentions of parties reserved.
- Challenge to Notification No 9 of 2023 regarding initial time extension left open.
- Proper Officer to re-adjudicate Show Cause Notice after personal hearing as per Section 75(3) of the Act.
Case Title: M/S. UMANG REALTECH PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA & ORS. (2024:DHC:4204-DB)
Case Number: W.P.(C)-7184/2024
