The Allahabad High Court has quashed a GST registration cancellation order along with the corresponding Show Cause Notice (SCN), holding that a system-generated notice that does not specify the name and designation of the competent issuing authority is legally unsustainable.
The Court observed that such a notice fails to meet the requirements of a valid legal proceeding and cannot serve as the basis for cancelling a taxpayer’s GST registration.
A Division Bench, including Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi, said that statutory powers under the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, are granted to authorised officers and cannot be exercised by an anonymous automated system.
The applicant contested the cancellation of its GST registration by an ex parte order dated March 26, 2025, along with the Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated February 11, 2025, which began the cancellation proceedings.
The Court observed that the issue had already been settled in M/s M Y Ent Bhatta v. State of U.P. & Another and relied on the reasoning chosen in that judgment.
In the previous case, the notice mentioned: “Jurisdictional Officer System Generated Notice, Contact Jurisdiction Office for further process.” The Court stated that such a notice is unsustainable, as it does not reveal the identity of the officer exercising the powers.
The State placed reliance on a GSTN advisory, mentioning that notices generated via the GST portal are not required to have digital signatures.
The Court stated that the absence of a digital signature is different from the absence of the issuing authority’s identity. The advisory could not affirm a notice that only illustrates itself as “system-generated” without naming the officer responsible.
The Bench highlighted that statutory notices should be issued by designated officers under the CGST Act and Rules. Since the impugned notice did not reveal the name and designation of the issuing authority, it was opposite to the law and unable to keep further proceedings.
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Subsequently, the HC set aside the Show Cause Notice dated February 11, 2025, and the GST registration cancellation order dated March 26, 2025. It provides liberty to the department to start fresh proceedings in accordance with the law, if needed.
| Case Title | M/S Rama Enterprises vs. State of U.P. |
| Case No. | WRIT TAX No. – 2966 of 2025 |
| For Petitioner | Pooja Talwar |
| For Respondent | C.S.C |
| Allahabad High Court | Read Order |
