TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (7) TMI 1602
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.... CWP-27457-2025, CWP-8436-2026, CWP-9808-2026, CWP-24432-2025, CWP-9745-2026 & CWP-9056-2026. Ms. Geetika Sharma, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-16270-2026. Mr. Avneet Singh, Advocate Mr. Pranav Jain, Advocate Ms. Alisha, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-6897-2026. Mr. Vishav Bharti Gupta, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-7600-2026. Mr. Lalitendra Gulani, Advocate Mr. Mohit Pugalia, Advocate Ms Sneha Ghosh, Advocate Ms. Gayatri, Advocate Ms. Janvi, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-9929-2026. Mr. Ajay Gupta, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-8742-2026. Mr. Mohit Bassi, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-16523-2026. Mr. Chetan Jain, Advocate Mr. Porush Jain, Advocate for the petitioners in CWP-14663-2026, CWP-8379-2026, CWP-7205-2026. Mr. Amar Pratap Singh, Advocate Mr. Mahesh Singla, Advocate for the petitioners in CWP-34824-2025 and CWP-36733- 2025. Ms. Tarushi Momya, Advocate Mr. Raj Mahto, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-6113-2026. Mr. Ankit Dhiman, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-9027-2026. Mr. Prashant Kapila, Advocate for the petitioners in CWP-7128-2026 and CWP-7400-2026. Mr. Puneet Rai, Advocate (through video conferencing....
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....l, being www.gst.gov.in amounts to proper service of it, on the petitioner in view of Section 169 read with Section 146 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short, the 'Act of 2017'), so as to trigger the period of limitation for filing of appeal under Section 107 of the Act of 2017? 3. Petitioner though has also assailed the notification issued on 31.03.2023, under Section 168A of the Act of 2017, extending the period of limitation for commencement of proceedings under the Act of 2017, but the arguments have been confined only to the extent of service of notice/order, and therefore we have not examined the legality of the notification, which is left open for examination in appropriate proceedings. 4. The brief facts leading to the present writ(s) are as follows: 5. The petitioner is a proprietorship firm, represented through its proprietor, carrying on business in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. It is aggrieved by the order-in-original dated 28.12.2023 (Annexure P-4) primarily on the ground that the said order was not served upon the petitioner in the prescribed manner, on account of which the petitioner is deprived of the opportunity to avail the remed....
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....rescribed for filing an appeal under Section 107 of the Act of 2017 has expired, as according to the Department, the order-in-original stood served/communicated to the petitioner with uploading of it on the tab 'View Additional Notices and Orders' on the Common Portal. The period for limitation also cannot be extended beyond the period of one month by virtue of Section 107 of the Act of 2017 and therefore, the petitioner is left with no remedy but to file the present writ petition. 11. Sh. Sandeep Goyal, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner, therefore, submits that mere uploading of orders on the Common Portal does not amount to service of the order-in-original and therefore, the authorities have wrongly treated such uploading as valid service of the order, so as to trigger the period of limitation for filing an appeal. 12. In connected petition(s), the authorities have taken such view and the appeal(s) filed by the appellant(s) has/have been dismissed on the ground of limitation. 13. The petitioner's submissions are countered by the respondents, who contend that uploading an order on the Common Portal is one of the permissible modes of service of a notice or an o....
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....ed on merits should not be permitted to be re-agitated by the taxpayers. He submits that communication of orders and notices through email may be read down to mean that the email should contain the attachment of the respective notice, order, or decision in order to constitute effective service, and that a mere intimation through email regarding the uploading of an order, notice, etc. on the Common Portal cannot be treated as an effective service. 17. Lastly, learned Senior Standing Counsel for the respondents submits that once a notification has been issued under Section 146 of the Act of 2017 notifying the Common Portal for the specified purposes, namely, facilitating registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns, computation and settlement of integrated tax, and issuance of electronic way bills, the same would also encompass the Common Portal for carrying out such other functions and purposes as may be prescribed. It is, therefore, contended that since Section 169(1)(d) of the Act of 2017 prescribes service of orders, decisions, notices and other communications through the Common Portal, no separate notification is required for that purpose. 18. Heard Sh. Sandeep Goya....
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....ence and if such mode is not practicable for any reason, then by affixing a copy thereof on the notice board of the office of the concerned officer or authority who or which passed such decision or order or issued such summons or notice. (2) Every decision, order, summons, notice or any communication shall be deemed to have been served on the date on which it is tendered or published or a copy thereof is affixed in the manner provided in sub-section (1). (3) When such decision, order, summons, notice or any communication is sent by registered post or speed post, it shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee at the expiry of the period normally taken by such post in transit unless the contrary is proved." 21. One of the modes prescribed for effecting the service of notice and orders is by making them available on the Common Portal. The term 'Common Portal' occurring in Section 169(1)(b) of the Act of 2017 has been defined in Section 146, which is extracted hereinafter:- "146. Common Portal.- The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, notify the Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal for facilitating registration, pay....
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....y S.L.) Under Secretary to the Government of India" 26. The second notification No.09/2018-CT dated 23.01.2018 is for furnishing the electronic way bill. The website address notified is www.ewaybillgst.gov.in, which is managed by the National Informatics Centre. The same reads thus:- "GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE CENTRAL BOARD OF EXCISE AND CUSTOMS Notification No.9/2018-Central Tax New Delhi, the 23rd January, 2018 G.S.R....(E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 146 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017) read with Section 20 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (13 of 2017), and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue No.4/2017-Central Tax dated 19th June, 2017, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 606 (E), dated the 19th June, 2017, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby notifies www.gst.gov.in as the Common Goods and....
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....nvoice3.gst.gov.in; www.einvoice4.gst.gov.in; www.einvoice5.gst.gov.in; www.einvoice6.gst.gov.in; www.einvoice7.gst.gov.in; www.einvoice8.gst.gov.in; www.einvoice9.gst.gov.in; www.einvoice10.gst.gov.in" Explanation.-For the purposes of this notification, the above mentioned websites mean the websites managed by the Goods and Services Tax Network, a company incorporated under the provisions of section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 (8 of 2013). 2. This notification shall come into force with effect from the 1st day of January, 2020. [F.No.20/13/01/2019-GST] (Ruchi Bisht) Under Secretary to the Government of India" 28. It remains undisputed on behalf of the respondents that apart from the Notifications dated 19.06.2017, 23.01.2018 and 13.12.2019, referred to above, no other notification has been issued under Section 146 of the Act of 2017. Our attention has not been invited to any other notification issued by the respondents specifying www.gst.gov.in as the portal for uploading notices or orders-in-original for the purposes of its service under Section 169 of the Act of 2017. ....
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....ioner in terms of Section 169 of the Act of 2017. 33. The petitioner has also placed on record a communication issued by the Excise and Taxation Department, Haryana containing Instruction No.02/2026/GST-II dated 01.06.2026, as per which an intimation of SCN and demand orders issued by the proper officers under Sections 73, 74, 74A or 122 of the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is required to be sent by post. This instruction is reproduced hereinafter:- "EXCISE & TAXATION DEPARTMENT, HARYANA Instruction No.02/2026/GST-II Dated: 01-06-2026 Subject:- Instructions regarding intimation of Show Cause Notices and Demand orders issued by the Proper Officers under Sections 73, 74, 74A or 122 of the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 by post. In pursuance of the regular feedbacks and representations received from the trade and industry in the state underlying the necessity of communicating the notices and orders issued under the provisions of GST law also by post, the Government of Haryana has decided to additionally communicate the notices and orders under GST to the tax payers by registered/speed post. In exercise of th....
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....ana, Panchkula" 34. An argument is also advanced on behalf of the petitioner that it is otherwise difficult for a registered entity to gather knowledge/information about any issuance of SCN or order, keeping in mind the manner such SCN or order is actually uploaded. It is urged that on visiting its GST portal by the registered entity, there is no flash of any penal proceedings contemplated or pending against it. On clicking of the tab services (not notices or orders), various sub-tabs open none of which give any indication of issuance of any notice to the petitioner, with regard to any contemplated penal proceedings. It is only on clicking the sub-tab 'User Services', that one is led to the opening of another 14 sub-tabs, one of which is 'Notices and Orders'. Even on this tab, there is no indication of any SCN or order on it. It is only on a sub-tab being 'Additional Notices and Orders', that one gets to know about the issuance of a notice or the order. It is therefore the petitioner's case that the process itself being cumbersome it becomes extremely challenging even for an honest taxpayer to know about the issuance of SCN or the order by its mere uploading on the GST portal. ....
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....t is undisputed that the notice and order were served upon the petitioner only by making them available on the Common Portal. Apart from sending a communication to the e-mail address provided at the time of registration regarding the uploading of the notice/order, none of the other modes of service of notice/order specified in sub-section (1) of Section 169 of the Act of 2017 have been resorted to by the Department. 37. As per Section 169(1) any decision, order, summons, notice or other communication under this Act, or the Rules made thereunder, shall be served by any one of the following methods: (a) Tendering it directly or by a messenger, including by courier to the taxable person. (b) By Registered Post or Speed Post or courier with acknowledgement due. (c) Communication to his email address. (d) By making it available on the common portal. (e) By publication in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the taxable person resided, carried on business or personally worked for gain. (f) If none of the modes are practicable, by affixing it in some conspicuous place at his last known place of business or residence, and....
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....tion does not authorize the use of the Common Portal, www.gst.gov.in, for uploading orders and notices issued under various provisions of the Act of 2017. The next notification, issued on 23.01.2018, notifies www.ewaybillgst.gov.in as the Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal for furnishing electronic way bills. This notification does not notify the Common Portal for the service of notices or orders under the Act of 2017. The third notification, dated 13.12.2019, is limited to notifying the Common Portal for the purpose of preparation of invoices in terms of sub-rule (4) of Rule 48 of the Rules framed under the Act of 2017. 42. The respondents, though they have filed their written statements but, have not disputed the petitioner's contention that, apart from the three notifications dated 19.06.2017, 23.01.2018, and 13.12.2019, referred to above, there is no other notification issued by the Government under Section 146, notifying the Common Portal for the service of notices/orders passed under the Act of 2017. 43. We may reiterate that our attention has not been invited to any notification issued by the Government authorizing the service of notices/orders passed ....
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....b 'Services' which leads to the popping up of several sub-tabs including 'User Services', which then leads to the opening of another 14 sub-tabs one of which is 'Notices and Orders'. As a matter of fact, notices and orders are not to be found in the sub-tab 'Notices and Orders' inasmuch as one has then to click another sub-tab 'View Additional Notices and Orders'. Thus, it is by way of a complex process that one ultimately gets to know that notices/orders under the Act of 2017 have been uploaded on the Common Portal which renders it quite cumbersome. 50. Introduction of GST regime has set into motion a noticeable shift from a predominantly paper-based tax administration to a technology driven compliance ecosystem. A Common Portal constitutes the primary statutory interface for discharge of obligations under the Act of 2017. The Common Portal is intended to act as an instrument to simplify compliance, promote transparency in GST regime and thereby secure the larger legislative objective of facilitating trade and improving the ease of doing business. 51. Once it be so, the Common Portal is recognized as the interface between the tax administration and the registered person, its....
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....ders' cannot be held to be a valid mode of its service on the registered entity. 57. Learned counsel representing the revenue has also invited our attention to Section 160 of the Act of 2017, sub-clause (2) whereof provides as under:- "(2) The service of any notice, order or communication shall not be called in question, if the notice, order or communication, as the case may be, has already been acted upon by the person to whom it is issued or where such service has not been called in question at or in the earlier proceedings commenced, continued or finalised pursuant to such notice, order or communication." 58. With reference to the above provision, it is submitted on behalf of the revenue that service of notice by uploading it on the Common Portal cannot be discarded where the person concerned has knowledge of it and has contested the proceedings by filing reply etc. In such cases, the SCN cannot be said to have not been served upon the assessee. 59. The contention advanced on behalf of the revenue, in this regard, merits consideration. In cases where the SCN has been responded to by the person concerned, and after contest, the order-in-original is passed by the....