Writ not entertained at show cause notice stage in GST registration cancellation dispute; authority must first decide reply.

A writ petition challenging a GST show cause notice for proposed cancellation of registration was not entertained because no final order had yet been passed and the petitioner had already filed replies before the department. The Court applied the principle that a noticee should ordinarily pursue the statutory process, with the competent authority first considering the reply and then issuing a reasoned decision in accordance with law. It also noted the earlier Division Bench view supporting that course. The petitioner was therefore left to the authority's decision on the show cause notice within the stipulated time.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the writ petition challenging the show cause notice was liable to be entertained or whether the petitioner should pursue the proceedings before the authority concerned.

Analysis: The notice was only a show cause notice proposing cancellation of GST registration, and the petitioner had already submitted replies before the department. The Court noted that no final order had yet been passed on the notice and relied on the earlier Division Bench view that the proper course is for the authority to consider the replies and take a decision in accordance with law. The Court also noticed that the challenge to an analogous order had not succeeded before the Supreme Court.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not entertained on merits and the petitioner was left to the statutory process before the authority.

Final Conclusion: The proceedings were closed with a direction to the respondent authority to take a decision on the show cause notice within the stipulated time.

Ratio Decidendi: A writ petition ordinarily will not be entertained at the stage of a show cause notice when the authority is yet to decide the matter and the proper course is for the noticee's reply to be considered and a reasoned decision taken by the competent authority.

---