Kerala HC: Petitioner’s Duty to Check the Govt GST Portal After Reg Cancellation

In the case of Koduvayur Constructions vs. the Assistant Commissioner-Works Contract, State GST Department Kerala, and the Deputy Commissioner of State (Arrear Recovery) – 2023 (8) TMI 834, the honourable Kerala High Court ruled out a decision.

The Hon’ble court held that the petitioner, M/s. Koduvayur Constructions, a registered dealer under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is responsible for monitoring the GST portal for any notices or orders served to them, The assessment order was not served in a valid manner and was untenable.

Kerala High Court Facts:

M/s. Koduvayur Constructions, the petitioner, is a registered dealer under the Central Goods and Services Tax, 2017 Act whose GST registration was cancelled as of September 01, 2021, by an order dated October 21, 2021. The petitioner assumed that it had no GST tax liability.

However, the respondent, the Assistant Commissioner, issued an assessment order on the common GST portal on October 14, 2022, demanding an amount of INR 19,22,566/-.

The petitioner argued that they had not received relevant notice regarding the issue as required by the CGST Act, and therefore, the entire process leading to the cancellation of their GST registration should be declared invalid.

Key Issues in Case of Cancellation GST Registration:

The key issue in this case is- whether serving an assessment order on the common GST portal after the cancellation of GST registration could be considered the right method of service under the GST law.

Kerala High Court Ruled:

The Kerala High Court held the following:

(i) The court observed that a straightforward reading of Section 169(1)(a) to (f) of the CGST Act clearly mentions that any decision, order, summons, notice, or communication under the CGST Act and its rules could be served to the taxpayer through any of the listed methods.

Related: Madras HC: Authority to View Reply of Notice via Post Instead GST Portal

(ii) The court further noted that Section 169(1)(d) of the CGST Act recognized the availability of orders on the common GST portal as an effective mode of order delivery.

(iii) The court observed in this case, that the Assessment Order was made accessible on the common portal, which is a valid mode of service as provided under Section 169(1) of the CGST Act.

(iv) It was held that it is the petitioner’s responsibility to regularly check and verify the common GST portal for any communications from the Revenue Department, and the petitioner’s failure to do so will be considered their own fault.

(v) The court dismissed the writ filed by the petitioner.