MP HC Grants Relief as GST SCN Was Uploaded Under ‘Additional Notices’ Tab, Leaving Assessee Unaware of Proceedings

The Madhya Pradesh High Court decided to give another chance to a taxpayer after discovering that an important notice related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was posted in a section of the online portal that the taxpayer did not check. As a result, the taxpayer was unaware of the ongoing legal proceedings.

The assessment orders dated 14.07.2023 have been contested by the applicant, Singh Construction and Co., for the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2021-22, along with the appellate orders dated 02.12.2024, which had dismissed the appeals exclusively on the ground of limitation.

Through any direct or proper mode of service, the applicant was unaware of the show cause notices and afterwards found that they had been uploaded under the “Additional Notices and Orders” section on the GST portal, a location distinct from the regular “View Notices and Orders” tab typically accessed by taxpayers.

The petitioner cited identical rulings from the Madras High Court in East Coast Constructions, Sabari Infra Pvt. Ltd., and Murugesan Jayalakshmi, as well as Delhi High Court rulings in Umang Realtech Pvt. Ltd. and Anhad Impex, which awarded a reasonable chance to answer to the taxpayer.

The applicant has proved the case, the court mentioned. As per the bench, since the applicant has lost the receipt of notice, and as per that, cannot answer to the SCN, as it was only uploaded on the portal under the category of “Additional Notices” tab, and therefore cannot answer to the SCN.

Though, as per the records of the impugned order, the taxpayers were sent a notice, but no response was given via GST DRC-07. However, no deposit has been made by the taxpayer, and they also didn’t respond to the cited notice; and thereafter, the applicant was asked for the demand.

As per that, the order has been set aside by the Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vinay Saraf. It asked the GST department to reopen the online portal to permit the applicant to submit its response to the SCN in Form GST DRC-01 within 2 weeks.

The proper officer was asked to re-adjudicate the case afresh after the due process, along with a personal hearing, and pass speaking orders as per Section 75(3) of the CGST Act.

The court proceeded to the merits of the case and reserved the rights and contentions of both parties.