The Gauhati High Court, in a ruling, has intervened in a GST dispute that set aside a recovery notice and asked the tax department to issue a fresh SCN, and it was stated that no chance has been furnished before the company to answer before starting the recovery proceedings.
The applicant, R S Cooling Appliances, has contested the recovery notice on 03 January 2026, claiming that no issuance of SCN or prior limitation was made. They asked to set aside an earlier adjudication order on 05 April 2022.
The counsel of the applicant, R S Mishra, M Dey, and B. Sarma cited that the recovery notice was the first time the company came to know about the proceedings.
In answer to the counsel of the revenue, Keyal furnished that the final order had been dispatched by registered post; however cannot be validated whether it was actually served.
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Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, after hearing both sides, said that “the interest of justice would be served if the proceeding is directed to be done afresh, whereby the petitioner would get an opportunity to submit his show cause reply.”
The Court noted that the applicant had not been furnished with any prior notice or opportunity to respond before the issuance of the recovery notice, and that the mere dispatch of the order by registered post, without proof of service, could not satisfy the requirement of a fair hearing.
It was determined that, in the interest of justice, the recovery proceedings should be initiated with a proper SCN. This would allow the applicant to submit a response and be heard. It was also clarified that this intervention pertained solely to the refusal of the opportunity and would not affect the merits of the tax dispute.
Subsequently, the writ petition was disposed of.
| Case Title | M/s R S Cooling Appliances Vs. Union of India |
| Case No | WP(C)/1116/2026 |
| For Petitioner | Mr R S Mishra, Ms M Dey, Ms B Sarma |
| For Respondent | DY.S.G.I., SC, GST |
| Gauhati High Court | Read Order |
