In a significant judgment, the Delhi High Court has held that uploading a Show Cause Notice (SCN) on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) portal under the ‘Additional Notices’ tab is not proper, as it can deprive the assessee of knowledge about the notice and violate principles of natural justice.
The case was filed by M/s GMT Garments challenging an SCN dated 23rd December 2023, which had been uploaded on the GST portal under the ‘Additional Notices’ section. Since this section is not prominently visible, the petitioner claimed they were unaware of the notice and hence could not file a reply.
The division bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed:
“The notice, if uploaded on the ‘additional notices’ tab of the portal, would not be proper as the party would not have even acquired knowledge of the same.”
As a result, an ex-parte order was passed on 3rd April 2024 against the petitioner without granting them a chance to respond.
Following this, the petitioner approached the Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. However, the appeal was dismissed on 11th November 2024 as time-barred. The Appellate Authority noted:
“As per Section 107(1) of the CGST Act, an appeal must be filed within three months from the date of the order. In this case, the appeal was filed on 2nd September 2024 against an order dated 3rd April 2024, which is beyond the limitation period.”
The High Court disagreed with the Appellate Authority, stating that the delay was due to the improper uploading of the SCN, which resulted in the petitioner not being aware of the notice.
The court referenced similar rulings, including:
- Satish Chand Mittal vs. Sales Tax Officer, where the SCN was uploaded under the wrong tab and not signed.
- Anant Wire Industries and Neelgiri Machinery cases, which involved similar issues of improper notice service.
The Court highlighted:
“In such circumstances, the delay in filing the appeal deserves to be condoned and the appeal deserves to be heard on merits.”
The bench restored the appeal to its original number (AD0709240005076) and directed the Appellate Authority to hear the matter afresh. It also instructed the authority to consider prior decisions and the petitioner’s submission during adjudication.
Additionally, the Court noted that the petitioner’s challenge to certain GST Notifications would be subject to the outcome of the Supreme Court’s pending decision in M/s HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV v. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax & Ors. (SLP No. 4240/2025).
In conclusion, the Delhi High Court’s judgment ensures that procedural lapses, especially concerning digital notice service on the GST portal, do not deny parties their right to be heard.
“The petition is disposed of in these terms. All pending applications, if any, are also disposed of.” — Delhi High Court, April 25, 2025
Appearance: Mr. Prem Kandpal, Ms. Shruti Garg & Mr. Chetan Kumar Shukla, Advs for Petitioner; Mr. Harpreet Singh, Sr. SC with Ms. Suhani Mathur and Mr. Jai Ahuja, Advs. Mr. Sumit K. Batra, Adv for Respondent
Case title: M/S Gmt Garments v. Union Of India & Ors.
Case no.: W.P.(C) 5304/2025
