GST assessment orders quashed as show cause notice wrongly uploaded on portal, violating natural justice; matter remanded

HC examined the validity of assessment orders passed under a GST regime where the prior SCN had been wrongly hosted in the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab instead of the "View Notices and Orders" section of the tax portal. The court held that the complex web-portal architecture led to the assessee not receiving effective notice, thereby vitiating the principles of natural justice. Consequently, the impugned assessment orders dated 29.04.2023 were quashed, and the matter was remanded to the department to pass fresh orders within 60 days.

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Issues involved: Challenge to impugned orders for Assessment Years 2017-2018 to 2021-2022 due to incorrect placement of notices on the petitioner's Dashboard.

Summary:

Issue 1: Incorrect placement of notices on Dashboard
The petitioner challenged orders due to notices being hosted in the wrong section of the Dashboard, hindering their ability to respond. The respondent argued that the notices were communicated, and there was no violation of natural justice principles.

Details:
The petitioner contested orders based on notices being placed in the Dashboard for 'Additional Notices and Orders' instead of 'View Notices and Orders.' This led to the petitioner missing the notices and failing to participate in the proceedings. The respondent contended that despite the incorrect placement, the notices were communicated to the petitioner, and there was no breach of natural justice principles.

Issue 2: Impact of incorrect placement on petitioner
The complex web portal architecture caused the petitioner to overlook the notice issued prior to the impugned orders. This oversight resulted in the passing of orders without the petitioner's response.

Details:
The web portal's design, aimed at easy information access, inadvertently caused the petitioner to miss the notice issued before the impugned orders. Consequently, the orders were passed without the petitioner's awareness or participation.

Judgment:
The High Court quashed the impugned orders and remitted the case back to the respondent for fresh consideration within 60 days. The quashed orders were deemed as corrigendum to the notices, requiring the petitioner to respond to the Show Cause Notice within 30 days. The Writ Petitions were allowed with no costs, and connected Miscellaneous Petitions were closed.

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