Tax Demand Quashed: Procedural Defect in Notice Service Invalidates Rs. 1.2 Crore GST Assessment Under Proper Hearing Rules

HC set aside an order creating a tax demand of Rs. 1,21,64,174 under GST Act due to lack of proper notice service. The court granted the petitioner 30 days to respond to the show cause notice and directed the Proper Officer to re-adjudicate after providing a personal hearing, while reserving all substantive rights and contentions.

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Issues involved: Impugning an order under the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 due to a show cause notice not being received and a demand being created against the petitioner.

Summary:
The petitioner challenged an order dated 15.12.2023, which disposed of a show cause notice dated 23.09.2023 and created a demand of Rs. 1,21,64,174 against the petitioner under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner contended that they never received the show cause notice as it was not uploaded on the GST portal under the correct section. The impugned order did not address the petitioner's submissions, leading to the petitioner requesting an opportunity to respond to the show cause notice. Consequently, the High Court set aside the impugned order and granted the petitioner 30 days to file a reply to the show cause notice. The Proper Officer was directed to re-adjudicate the notice after providing a personal hearing to the petitioner and to pass a fresh order within the prescribed period under Section 75(3) of the Act. The Court clarified that it did not assess the merits of the parties' contentions, and all rights and contentions were reserved. The petition was disposed of accordingly.

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