The Gauhati High Court has cancelled a GST demand order. The order was passed against M/s Riyan Enterprises after keeping that the tax authorities did not issue an appropriate show cause notice u/s 73 of the Assam GST Act, 2017.
The case comprises M/s Riyan Enterprises, a government contractor based in Guwahati holding an annual turnover of less than Rs 1 crore. The firm contested a summary order on April 30, 2024, issued by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax under Section 73 of the AGST Act.
It was claimed by the applicant that merely a summary SCN in Form GST DRC-01 had been issued on December 18, 2023, without serving a detailed and proper SCN as mandated under law.
Justice Manish Choudhury stated that the problem was earlier settled in an earlier batch of cases decided by the High Court on September 26, 2024. The Court in that judgment had specified that a summary notice in Form GST DRC-01 cannot substitute the obligatory SCN specified u/s 73(1) of the GST law.
The Court repeated that proceedings under section 73 can be initiated merely after the issuance of a proper SCN by the “Proper Officer.” It was observed that mere issuance of a summary notice does not fulfil the statutory provisions under section 73 and Rule 142 of the AGST Rules.
Holding that the impugned order is legally not sustainable, the HC quashed the GST demand order on April 30, 2024, including all consequential measures arising therefore.
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Although the Court granted liberty to the tax department to start the fresh proceedings as per the law by issuing a valid SCN and following the due procedure specified under the GST structure.
| Case Title | Ms Riyan Enterprises Vs. State of Assam |
| Case No. | WP(C)/2258/2026 |
| For the Appellant | Dikshita Das, Mr M Uddin, Mr N. N. Jha |
| For the Respondent | SC, FINANCE |
| Gauhati High Court | Read Order |
