GST cancellation notice service failure and natural justice breach can invalidate ex parte cancellation orders.

GST registration cancellation was unsustainable where the show cause notice was uploaded only on the portal and not served in the mandatory modes prescribed by Section 169. The resulting ex parte cancellation breached the statutory notice requirement and denied a real opportunity to respond, amounting to violation of natural justice. The appellate order was also flawed because it treated the challenge as time-barred without accounting for the ex parte character of the original cancellation order. The cancellation and appellate orders were set aside, with liberty to proceed afresh after proper service and hearing.

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Issues: Whether the cancellation of GST registration and the appellate order dismissing the challenge on limitation were liable to be set aside for non-service of the show cause notice in the mandatory modes prescribed by law and for breach of natural justice.

Analysis: The notice to show cause was admitted to have been uploaded only on the portal and not served by the requisite modes. The statutory scheme under Section 169 required service in the prescribed manner, and the failure to ensure such service amounted to non-compliance with the mandatory notice requirement. As the cancellation order was passed ex parte without a real opportunity to respond, it suffered from violation of the principles of natural justice. The appellate authority also failed to account for the ex parte character of the original cancellation order while dismissing the appeal on limitation.

Conclusion: The cancellation order and the appellate order could not be sustained and were set aside, with liberty to the department to proceed afresh after complying with the statutory requirements and giving a proper opportunity of hearing.

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