GST portal service alone is insufficient after registration cancellation; effective notice and hearing remain mandatory.

Where a taxpayer's GST registration had been cancelled, exclusive service of a show cause notice through the GST portal was not valid because portal-based communication must still effectively reach the assessee; the notice was therefore not properly served. The text also states that an adverse adjudication cannot be sustained without compliance with the statutory right to hearing and the principles of natural justice, including a personal hearing where sought. On that basis, the adjudication and appellate orders were quashed, while the Revenue was permitted to restart proceedings from the show cause notice stage and afford hearing in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether service of the show cause notice exclusively through the GST portal was valid after the petitioner's registration had been cancelled, and whether the adjudication order could be sustained when no effective opportunity of hearing was afforded.

Analysis: The notice and the adjudication order were uploaded only on the GST portal. Once registration had been cancelled, the petitioner was not expected to keep checking the portal as the sole mode of communication. The statutory scheme permits portal-based communication, but it is not the exclusive mode of service. Effective service must actually communicate the notice to the assessee. The requirement of hearing under the GST law also reflects the rule of audi alteram partem, and where an adverse decision is contemplated, a personal hearing must be granted in accordance with the statutory mandate.

Conclusion: Service by portal alone was held to be invalid in the circumstances, and the adjudication order and appellate order were quashed. The Revenue was permitted to proceed from the stage of show cause notice, and the petitioner was to be given personal hearing if sought.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxpayer's registration has been cancelled, exclusive service of notice through the GST portal does not amount to valid service unless it effectively communicates the notice, and adverse fiscal adjudication must comply with the statutory right to hearing and the principles of natural justice.

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