GST registration - opportunity to respond to notice seeking clarifications - fresh consideration on response to clarification notice Rejection of a GST registration application for failure to respond to the notice seeking additional information and clarifications - HELD THAT: - The registration application had been rejected solely because no response was furnished to the notice issued in Form GST REG-03. The Court granted a conditional opportunity to furnish the response and directed fresh co... ... ...

Mandatory personal hearing before adverse GST order - Requirement of an opportunity of personal hearing before passing an adverse order determining GST liability, where the assessee had not opted for such hearing. - HELD THAT: - Section 75(4) mandates an opportunity of hearing where an adverse decision is contemplated. The Revenue was therefore obliged to afford a personal hearing notwithstanding that the assessee had not opted for one. [Paras 5, 6] The impugned order was quashed, with libert... ... ...

Assessment beyond scope of show cause notice - Cancellation of GST registration on discontinuance of business Assessment beyond scope of show cause notice - Appropriation of tax payments in demand determination - Validity of the GST assessment order and DRC-7 where they travelled beyond the show cause notice and the DRC-7 omitted to account for tax already paid - HELD THAT: - The detailed assessment order and DRC-7 exceeded the scope of the show cause notice. Although the detailed order recor... ... ...

Verification of authenticity of e-way bill lacking vehicle number Detention and penalty based on an e-way bill not reflecting the vehicle number, without verification of the claim of a technical glitch - HELD THAT: - The Court held that it was unclear how an e-way bill without the vehicle number had been generated in the system. Verification was necessary to determine whether the e-way bill accompanying the vehicle was fabricated or was a genuine e-way bill in which the vehicle number was omi... ... ...

Statutory appeal beyond limitation - non-service of adjudication order - Prior pre-deposit Statutory appeal against the service-tax adjudication order where the assessee was unaware of the unserved order despite having made the court-directed pre-deposit - HELD THAT: - Taking note that the assessee had already deposited an amount exceeding the pre-deposit required for an appeal and had remained unaware of the adjudication order, the Court considered it appropriate to preserve the statutory ap... ... ...

Delay in filing GST appeal against assessment order - Conditional restoration of time-barred GST appeal Restoration of the GST appeal rejected as time-barred, subject to further pre-deposit and submission of a reply to the show-cause notice - HELD THAT: - Having regard to the petitioner's status as a Government of India enterprise and its consent to deposit a further portion of the disputed tax, the Court did not adjudicate the merits of the excess input tax credit dispute. It directed... ... ...

Ex parte GST assessment - opportunity to reply - Statutory appellate limitation HELD THAT: - While holding that liberty to challenge the impugned order before the Appellate Authority could not be granted in view of the governing limitation principles, the Court considered the ex parte nature of the order sufficient to remit the matter for fresh consideration. The petitioner was required to file a reply to the preceding show-cause notice, treating the impugned order as an addendum, and make pr... ... ...

Statutory appellate remedy against GST demand - Challenge to GST demand where the assessee had claimed that the supplies comprised exempt fuelwood and charcoal HELD THAT: - The Court observed that the defence had not been properly substantiated in the adjudication proceedings and that the appropriate remedy was an appeal before the Appellate Authority. Since a substantial part of the confirmed demand had already been recovered, the assessee was granted an opportunity to pursue that remedy. Th... ... ...

Anticipatory bail in alleged GST fraud - Criminal antecedents Grant of anticipatory bail in a case alleging fraudulent passing of input tax credit and defrauding of GST revenue by an applicant having involvement in six other similar cases - HELD THAT: - The Court noted that the applicant was associated with six other cases of a similar nature and that the present case concerned alleged defrauding of the exchequer through GST fraud. These circumstances rendered the applicant ineligible for ant... ... ...

GST registration cancelled on the ground that the petitioner is holding another GST registration as a tax deductor at source/tax collector at source - HELD THAT:- The impugned cancellation of GST registration was quashed and the matter remitted for fresh orders on merits, with liberty to cancel any alternate GST registration held as tax deductor or tax collector.... ... ...

Personal hearing under section 75(4) of the CGST Act - Mandatory grant of personal hearing before passing an adverse order under section 75(4) of the CGST Act - HELD THAT: - Section 75(4) operates in two independent contingencies, separated by the word "or": a hearing must be afforded when requested by the person chargeable with tax or penalty, and also where the proper officer proposes to pass an adverse order. The latter requirement applies irrespective of whether a reply has been filed. Th... ... ...

Ex parte GST assessment - Opportunity to reply to show-cause notice Assessment confirmed for want of a reply to the GST show-cause notice for the tax period 2019-20 - HELD THAT: - As the assessment had been confirmed without a reply to the show-cause notice, and the petitioner undertook to deposit 50% of the IGST and cess demand after adjusting amounts already recovered, an opportunity was granted to submit a reply with supporting documents. [Paras 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] The matter was remitted ... ... ...

GST appellate jurisdiction over central adjudication orders - competent appellate forum for an appeal arising from an adjudication order passed by a Central GST authority HELD THAT: - Accepting the conceded legal position on grounds of propriety and consistency, the Court held that an appeal against an order of adjudication passed by a Central Authority must be heard by the Appellate Authority under the CGST Act and not by the State Appellate Authority. [Paras 7] The impugned State Appella... ... ...

Bail in CGST prosecution - Presumption of innocence - Pre-trial detention not punitive - Right to speedy trial - Documentary evidence Grant of bail in a CGST prosecution concerning alleged diversion of online-gaming merchant funds received through a payment-gateway escrow account - HELD THAT: - Pre-conviction detention is not punitive and must serve the purpose of securing the accused's attendance at trial. The investigation had been completed and the complaint filed; the evidence was doc... ... ...

Foundational allegations of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts - Section 74 notice for wrongful availment of input tax credit Validity of the show cause notice for alleged wrongful availment of input tax credit under Section 74 of the HPGST Act, where the notice did not identify and correlate the alleged fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts with the asserted default - HELD THAT: - Invocation of Section 74 requires the notice itself to disclose foundational facts ... ... ...

Violation of natural justice in service of GST show cause notice Validity of adjudication where the GST show cause notice was uploaded only under the 'Additional Notice and Orders' tab without separate intimation to the petitioners - HELD THAT: - The Court found that, as the notice was uploaded only under the specified portal tab and no separate intimation was given, the petitioners were unable to respond to it. This constituted a violation of the principles of natural justice and war... ... ...

Effective opportunity of hearing in GST assessment - Principles of natural justice Validity of GST assessment where the personal hearing was fixed before expiry of the time allowed to submit the reply to the show-cause notice - HELD THAT: - Fixing the personal hearing before the deadline for filing the reply did not afford an effective opportunity of hearing and resulted in breach of the principles of natural justice. See M/S MODINE THERMAL SYSTEMS PRIVATE LIMITED [2025 (6) TMI 989 - UTTARAKH... ... ...

Condonation of delay in filing GST appeal - Opportunity to explain delay Rejection of a delayed GST appeal without considering the appellant's explanation for delay - HELD THAT: - The appeal was rejected because the notice requiring a response on delay remained unanswered. As the explanation that the appellant was undergoing medical treatment was not rebutted, the Court found sufficient cause to afford one opportunity to justify the delay beyond the stipulated period. [Paras 4] The rej... ... ...

Pecuniary jurisdiction to block input tax credit - Authority of the Deputy Commissioner to block input tax credit beyond the prescribed pecuniary limit HELD THAT: - The Deputy Commissioner admitted that the blocked input tax credit exceeded the pecuniary jurisdiction conferred by the Commissioner's administrative order and that the entry was consequently corrected and unblocked. The Court held that exercise of jurisdiction requires self-discipline and that an authority must not act to ... ... ...

Extinguishment of government dues under approved insolvency resolution plan - Exercise of writ jurisdiction despite alternative statutory appeal Extinguishment of unfiled GST claims under approved resolution plan - Effect of approval of the resolution plan on unfiled GST dues for Financial Year 2021-22 and interest for delayed GSTR-3B returns for July and August, 2021 - HELD THAT: - An approved resolution plan binds government authorities, and statutory dues relating to a period preceding its... ... ...