GST pre-notice intimation must follow prescribed form and cannot be used as a coercive recovery notice.

A pre-notice intimation under section 74(5) of the GST framework must follow the prescribed procedure and form, namely Form GST DRC-01A under rule 142(1A), and cannot be treated as a show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01. A communication that purports to be an intimation but threatens immediate recovery of tax, interest, and penalty goes beyond the statutory scheme, because final liability must be determined only after the proper notice and adjudication process. The impugned intimation was therefore procedurally unsustainable and was quashed, with liberty to proceed afresh in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether an intimation issued under section 74(5) could be issued in Form GST DRC-01 and treated as a show cause notice, and whether such intimation was liable to be quashed for prescribing recovery of tax, interest, and penalty without following the procedure under the GST Rules.

Analysis: Section 74 of the GST framework gives a taxpayer one pre-notice opportunity to pay the ascertained tax, interest, and penalty, and upon such payment the proper officer is not to serve a notice under section 74(1). The prescribed mechanism distinguishes a pre-notice intimation under rule 142(1A), which is to be issued in Form GST DRC-01A, from a show cause notice under rule 142(1)(a), which is to be issued in Form GST DRC-01. The impugned communication, though described as an intimation under section 74(5), was issued in the wrong form and its contents went beyond an intimation by threatening immediate recovery of the amount, which was inconsistent with the statutory sequence that requires a proper notice and adjudication before final liability is fixed.

Conclusion: The impugned intimation was unsustainable and was quashed. The department was directed to proceed afresh, if so advised, in accordance with law and the prescribed GST procedure.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded because the notice was found to be procedurally incorrect and contrary to the statutory scheme governing pre-show-cause intimation and adjudication under the GST law.

Ratio Decidendi: A pre-notice communication under section 74(5) must conform to the prescribed form and cannot be converted into, or treated as, a show cause notice or coercive recovery notice before the statutory adjudication process is triggered.

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