Service of statutory notices via portal upload: quashing order for non-prosecution and remand with fresh personal hearing allowed

Service of statutory notices uploaded to an electronic portal was held to potentially deprive a party of audi alteram partem where substantial service was not established, resulting in quashing of an order passed for non-prosecution; the matter is remanded for fresh adjudication with an opportunity for the affected party to file written submissions and obtain a personal hearing within a directed four-week period. The decision rests on procedural fairness in electronic service and the requirement that notice mechanisms must effect genuine opportunity to be heard before final adverse action is confirmed.

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Issues: (i) Whether the impugned order-in-original dated 3rd April, 2024 (passed on ground of non-prosecution) is vitiated by non-service of the show cause notice and reminders where the notices were uploaded under the "Additional Notices" tab on the GST portal, resulting in denial of opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

Analysis: The petition challenges the mode of service consisting of uploading the show cause notice and reminders under the "Additional Notices" tab which, on the material before the Court, was not open or accessible to the petitioner and therefore did not impart knowledge of the proceedings. The matter is considered in the context of interlocutory rulings of this Court (Neelgiri Machinery) and subsequent authorities which treat non-communication by such upload as affecting the entitlement to a hearing. Having regard to those decisions and the absence of effective service here, the petitioner was deprived of an opportunity to file a reply and to seek personal hearing before adjudication; the impugned order was passed on the sole ground of non-prosecution without affording that opportunity. The Court therefore considered remand to permit filing of reply, grant of personal hearing, and fresh reasoned adjudication by the authority.

Conclusion: The impugned order-in-original dated 3rd April, 2024 is quashed and set aside; the petitioner is permitted to file a reply within four weeks and to seek personal hearing on the fixed date, and the adjudicating authority is directed to pass a reasoned order after personal hearing within three months.

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