Desk of CA. Praveen Sharma – 1029 Series (CAPS) 

Allahabad High Court: Assessment Order Quashed Due to Improper Service of GST Notice

The Allahabad High Court in the case of AWE Global Logistics v. State of Uttar Pradesh gave an important ruling on service of notice under GST law.

In this case, the taxpayer’s GST registration had already been cancelled. After cancellation, the GST department issued a show cause notice under Section 73 of the GST Act and uploaded it only on the GST portal. The taxpayer argued that after cancellation of registration, it was not reasonable to expect the taxpayer to regularly check the GST portal.

The Court observed that proper service of notice is very important before passing any adverse order. If the registration is cancelled, the department should serve notice through an effective mode such as email, post, or any other mode allowed under Section 169 of the GST Act.

Since the notice was not properly served, the taxpayer did not get a fair opportunity to reply. Therefore, the assessment order was passed in violation of principles of natural justice.

The High Court quashed the assessment order. However, it allowed the department to issue a fresh notice through a proper mode and proceed as per law.

Key Takeaway: Mere uploading of notice on the GST portal after cancellation of GST registration may not be valid service. Proper notice and opportunity of hearing are mandatory before passing a GST demand order.


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CAPS