Court Dismisses Writ Petition Challenging GST Orders, Citing Non-Compliance and Lack of Merit
In a significant ruling, the Patna High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by M/s Umagaurav Private Limited, a construction services company, challenging ex-parte summary orders under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act. The company had sought the quashing of tax demand orders amounting to over Rs. 16 lakh, citing violations of natural justice and improper communication of notices.
The Division Bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Kumar Manish ruled that mere uploading of notices and orders on the GST portal's "Additional Notices and Orders" tab did not violate Section 169 of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (BGST Act), provided alerts were sent to the registered email or SMS. The Court highlighted the absence of a substantive response from the petitioner regarding the alleged discrepancies in Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims and failure to file a statutory appeal.
The Court noted that the petitioner failed to substantiate claims of improper service, pointing out that the GST portal automatically sends alerts about notices to the taxpayer's registered email and phone number. The Bench also criticized the petitioner for not providing factual justification for the discrepancies in ITC claims and for furnishing post-dated cheques, which indicated an acknowledgment of the demand.
The judgment emphasized that writ petitions based on afterthoughts and lacking substantive merits would not be entertained. The Court also imposed a cost of Rs. 25,000 on the petitioner, payable to the Patna High Court Legal Services Committee, for filing a non-bona fide writ application.
Bottom line:-
GST Law - Mere uploading of notices and orders under the "Additional Notices and Orders" tab of the GST portal does not constitute proper compliance with Section 169 of the BGST Act, 2017, unless proven that alerts were sent to the registered email or SMS. However, writ petitions based on afterthoughts and lacking substantive merits will not be entertained.
Statutory provision(s): Sections 73(1), 75(4), 169 of the BGST Act, 2017, Rule 142(1) of the CGST Rules, 2017
M/s Umagaurav Private Limited v. State of Bihar, (Patna)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2942775
