An order is invalid if the show-cause notice was uploaded to an obscure portal tab.

By | October 1, 2025
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An order is invalid if the show-cause notice was uploaded to an obscure portal tab.

Issue

Is an ex-parte adjudication order legally valid if the initial show-cause notice (SCN) was uploaded to the “Additional Notices Tab” of the GST portal, causing the taxpayer to miss it, even if the department claims to have issued a subsequent reminder?

Facts

  • The assessee filed a writ petition to challenge a show-cause notice and the subsequent adverse order passed by the GST department.
  • The assessee’s main argument was that they were never properly served with the show-cause notice (SCN) that initiated the proceedings and were therefore unaware of the case against them.
  • The SCN had been uploaded by the department to the “Additional Notices Tab” on the GST portal, which is a less prominent and frequently checked location compared to the main dashboard for viewing notices.
  • The department countered this by submitting that they had also issued a reminder notice, but the assessee still failed to file a reply.
  • Because no reply was ever filed, the department passed an ex-parte order confirming the demand against the assessee.

Decision

The High Court ruled in favour of the assessee and remanded the matter.

  • The court accepted the assessee’s contention and held that they did not get a proper opportunity to be heard. The fact that no reply was ever filed supported the claim that the assessee was likely unaware of the proceedings.
  • The court found that the initial flawed service of the notice, by placing it in an obscure tab, was a significant breach of the principles of natural justice.
  • The impugned ex-parte order was set aside, and the entire matter was remanded back to the Adjudicating Authority for a fresh hearing. The assessee was given the liberty to file a reply to the original SCN.

Key Takeways

  • Proper Service of Notice is the Foundation: The validity of any legal proceeding depends on the proper service of the initial show-cause notice. Placing a critical notice in an obscure or ancillary tab on a web portal may not be considered sufficient or effective service by the courts.
  • The Right to a Hearing is Paramount: The core principle of natural justice is that a person must have a fair and reasonable opportunity to present their case. If they were not properly made aware of the case against them in the first place, this fundamental right has been violated.
  • Portal Usability and Fairness: This case, along with several others, highlights the practical difficulties that taxpayers can face with the design and layout of the GST portal. The courts are often sympathetic to taxpayers who genuinely miss notices due to a non-intuitive or confusing user interface.
  • A Reminder May Not Cure a Defective Notice: While the department argued that it sent a reminder, the court still found a breach of natural justice. This suggests that the initial failure to properly serve the main, detailed SCN is a fundamental flaw that a simple, subsequent reminder might not always be able to cure, especially if the taxpayer never saw the original notice.
HIGH COURT OF DELHI
New Allied LPG appliances
v.
Sales Tax Officer Class II/AVATO
PRATHIBA M. SINGH and SHAIL JAIN, JJ.
W.P.(C) No. 11818 of 2025 & CM APPL. No. 48240 of 2025
AUGUST  7, 2025
Pulkit Verma, Adv. for the Petitioner. Ms. Vaishali Gupta and Ms. Urvi Mohan, Advs. for the Respondent.
ORDER
Prathiba M. Singh, J.- This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner inter alia challenging the Show Cause Notice dated 23rd September, 2023 and the consequent order dated 3rd December, 2023 passed in respect of Financial Year 2017-18, by the office of Sales Tax Officer Class II/ AVATO, Ward 79, Zone 4, Delhi.
3. The demand raised upon the Petitioner vide the impugned order is as under:
4. Further, the petition also challenges Notification No.09/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March, 2023 and Notification No.09/2023-State Tax dated 22nd June, 2023 (hereinafter ‘impugned notifications’).
5. The validity of the impugned notification was under consideration before this Court in a batch of petitions with the lead petition being DJST Traders (P.) Ltd. v. UOI  191 (Delhi)/W.P.(C) 16499/2023. In the said batch of petitions, on 22nd April, 2025, the parties were heard at length qua the validity of the impugned notifications and accordingly, the following order was passed:
“4. Submissions have been heard in part. The broad challenge to both sets of Notifications is on the ground that the proper procedure was not followed prior to the issuance of the same. In terms of Section 168A, prior recommendation of the GST Council is essential for extending deadlines. In respect of Notification no.9, the recommendation was made prior to the issuance of the same. However, insofar as Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax) the challenge is that the extension was granted contrary to the mandate under Section 168A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and ratification was given subsequent to the issuance of the notification. The notification incorrectly states that it was on the recommendation of the GST Council. Insofar as the Notification No. 56 of 2023 (State Tax) is concerned, the challenge is to the effect that the same was issued on 11th July, 2024 after the expiry of the limitation in terms of the Notification No.13 of 2022 (State Tax).
5. In fact, Notification Nos. 09 and 56 of 2023 (Central Tax) were challenged before various other High Courts. The Allahabad Court has upheld the validity of Notification no.9. The Patna High Court has upheld the validity of Notification no.56. Whereas, the Guwahati High Court has quashed Notification No. 56 of 2023 (Central Tax).
6. The Telangana High Court while not delving into the vires of the assailed notifications, made certain observations in respect of invalidity of Notification No. 56 of 2023 (Central Tax). This judgment of the Telangana High Court is now presently under consideration by the Supreme Court in S.L.P No 4240/2025 titled M/s HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV v. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax & Ors. The Supreme Court vide order dated 21st February, 2025, passed the following order in the said case:
“1. The subject matter of challenge before the High Court was to the legality, validity and propriety of the Notification No.13/2022 dated 5-7-2022 & Notification Nos.9 and 56 of 2023 dated 31-3-2023 & 8-12-2023 respectively.
2. However, in the present petition, we are concerned with Notification Nos.9 & 56/2023 dated 313-2023 respectively.
3. These Notifications have been issued in the purported exercise of power under Section 168 (A) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act. 2017 (for short, the “GST Act”).
4. We have heard Dr. S. Muralidhar, the learned Senior counsel appearing for the petitioner.
5. The issue that falls for the consideration of this Court is whether the time limit for adjudication of show cause notice and passing order under Section 73 of the GST Act and SGST Act (Telangana GST Act) for financial year 2019-2020 could have been extended by issuing the Notifications in question under Section 168-A of the GST Act.
6. There are many other issues also arising for consideration in this matter.
7. Dr. Muralidhar pointed out that there is a cleavage of opinion amongst different High Courts of the country.
8. Issue notice on the SLP as also on the prayer for interim relief, returnable on 7-3-2025.”
7. In the meantime, the challenges were also pending before the Bombay High Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In the Punjab and Haryana High Court vide order dated 12th March, 2025, all the writ petitions have been disposed of in terms of the interim orders passed therein. The operative portion of the said order reads as under:
“65. Almost all the issues, which have been raised before us in these present connected cases and have been noticed hereinabove, are the subject matter of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the aforesaid SLP.
66. Keeping in view the judicial discipline, we refrain from giving our opinion with respect to the vires of Section 168-A of the Act as well as the notifications issued in purported exercise of power under Section 168-A of the Act which have been challenged, and we direct that all these present connected cases shall be governed by the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the decision thereto shall be binding on these cases too.
67. Since the matter is pending before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the interim order passed in the present cases, would continue to operate and would be governed by the final adjudication by the Supreme Court on the issues in the aforesaid SLP-4240-2025.
68. In view of the aforesaid, all these connected cases are disposed of accordingly along with pending applications, if any.”
8. The Court has heard Id. Counsels for the parties for a substantial period today. A perusal of the above would show that various High Courts have taken a view and the matter is squarely now pending before the Supreme Court.
9. Apart from the challenge to the notifications itself, various counsels submit that even if the same are upheld, they would still pray for relief for the parties as the Petitioners have been unable to file replies due to several reasons and were unable to avail of personal hearings in most cases. In effect therefore in most cases the adjudication orders are passed ex-parte. Huge demands have been raised and even penalties have been imposed.
10. Broadly, there are six categories of cases which are pending before this Court. While the issue concerning the validity of the impugned notifications is presently under consideration before the Supreme Court, this Court is of the prima facie view that, depending upon the categories of petitions, orders can be passed affording an opportunity to the Petitioners to place their stand before the adjudicating authority. In some cases, proceedings including appellate remedies may be permitted to be pursued by the Petitioners, without delving into the question of the validity of the said notifications at this stage.
11. The said categories and proposed reliefs have been broadly put to the parties today. They may seek instructions and revert by tomorrow i.e., 23rd April, 2025. “
6. Thereafter, on 23rd April, 2025, this Court, having noted that the validity of the impugned notifications is under consideration before the Supreme Court, had disposed of several matters in the said batch of petitions after addressing other factual issues raised in the respective petitions. Additionally, while disposing of the said petitions, this Court clearly observed that the validity of the impugned notifications therein shall be subject to the outcome of the proceedings before the Supreme Court in HCC-SEW-Meil-AAG JV v. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax 1080 (SC)/S.L.P. No. 4240/2025.
7. However, in cases where the challenge is to the parallel State Notifications, the same have been retained for consideration by this Court. The lead matter in the said batch is Engineers India Ltd. v. UOI [W.P. (C) No. 9214 of 2024, dated 23-4-2025].
8. In the present case, the submission of the Petitioner, on facts is that the SCN dated 23rd September 2023, from which the impugned order arises, was uploaded on the ‘Additional Notices Tab’. The same was not brought to the knowledge of the Petitioner due to which no reply was filed. Hence, the impugned order was passed without providing the Petitioner with an opportunity to challenge the show cause notice on merits.
9. The submission on behalf of the Department is that a reminder notice was also issued to the Petitioner 21st November, 2023. However, no reply was filed by the Petitioner to the impugned SCN despite the said reminder.
10. The Court has heard the parties. In fact, this Court in Neelgiri Machinery v. Commissioner Delhi Goods and Service Tax  847/109 GST 507/97 GSTL 345 (Delhi)/W.P.(C) 13727/2024, under similar circumstances where the SCN was uploaded on the ‘Additional Notices Tab’ had remanded the matter in the following terms:
“6. Be that as it may, intention is to ensure that the Petitioner is given an opportunity to file its reply and is heard on merits and that orders are not passed in default. Since there is no clarity on behalf of the Department, this Court follows the order dated 9th September, 2024 in Satish Chand Mittal (Trade Name National Rubber Products) v. Sales Tax Officer SGST, Ward 25-Zone 1 as also order dated 23rd December, 2024 in Anant Wire Industries v. Sales Tax Officers Class I I/Avato, Ward 83 & Anr (W.P.(C) 17867/2024; DHC) where the Court under similar circumstances has remanded back the matter to ensure the Noticee/petitioners get a fair opportunity to be heard. The order of the Court in Sathish Chand Mittal (supra) reads as under:
“4. It is the petitioner’s case that he had not received the impugned SCN and, therefore, he had no opportunity to respond to the same. For the same reason, the petitioner claims that he had not appear for a personal hearing before the Adjudicating Authority, which was scheduled on 17.10.2023 and later rescheduled to 30.11.2023 as per the Reminder.
5. The petitioner also states that the impugned SCN, the Reminder and the impugned order are unsigned.
6. Mr. Singhvi, the learned counsel appearing for the respondent, on advance notice,fairly states that the principal issue involved in the present case is squarely covered by the decisions of this Court in M/s ACE Cardiopathy Solutions Private Ltd. v. Union of India & Ors. : Neutral Citation No. 2024:DHC:4108-DB as well as in Kamla Vohra v. Sales Tax Officer Class II/ Avato Ward 52 : Neutral Citation No.2024:DHC:5108- DB.
7. He states that possibly, the petitioner did not had the access of the Notices as they were projected on the GST Portal under the tab ‘Additional Notices & Orders’ He submits that the said issue has now been addressed and the ‘Additional Notices & Orders’ tab is placed under the general menu and adjacent to the tab ‘Notices & Orders’.
8. In view of the above, the present petition is allowed and the impugned order is set aside.
9. The respondent is granted another opportunity to reply to the impugned SCN within a period of two weeks from date. The Adjudicating Authority shall consider the same and pass such order, as it deems fit, after affording the petitioner an opportunity to be heard. 10. The present petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms. 11. All pending applications are also disposed of.”
7. The impugned demand orders dated 23rd April, 2024 and 5th December, 2023 are accordingly set aside. In response to show cause notices dated 04th December, 2023 and 23th September, 2023, the Petitioner shall file its replies within thirty days. The hearing notices shall now not be merely uploaded on the portal but shall also be e-mailed to the Petitioner and upon the hearing notice being received, the Petitioner would appear before the Department and make its submissions. The show cause notices shall be adjudicated in accordance with law.
8. The petitions are disposed of in the above terms. The pending application(s), if any, also stand disposed of.”
11. There is no doubt that after 16th January 2024, changes have been made to the GST portal and the ‘Additional Notices Tab’ has been made visible. However, in the present case, the SCN was issued on 23rd September, 2023 and the same was not brought to the notice of the Petitioner. Under such circumstances, considering the fact that the Petitioner did not get a proper opportunity to be heard and no reply to the SCN has been filed by the Petitioner, the matter deserves to be remanded back to the concerned Adjudicating Authority.
12. Accordingly, the impugned order is set aside. The Petitioner is granted time till 31st August, 2025, to file the reply to the SCN. Upon filing of the reply, the Adjudicating Authority shall issue a notice for personal hearing to the Petitioner. The personal hearing notice shall be communicated to the Petitioner on the following mobile no. and e-mail address:

Mobile No.: 9716694879

Email: pulkit@enurelegal.com

13. The reply filed by the Petitioner to the SCN along with the submissions made in the personal hearing proceedings shall be duly considered by the Adjudicating Authority and a fresh order with respect to the SCN shall be passed.
14. Access to the GST Portal, shall be provided within one week to the Petitioner to enable uploading of the reply as also to access the notices and related documents.
15. However, it is made clear that the issue in respect of the validity of the impugned notifications is left open. Any order passed by the Adjudicating Authority shall be subject to the outcome of the decision of the Supreme Court in HCC-SEW-MEIL-AAG JV (supra) and the decision of this court in Engineers India Ltd. (supra).
16. All rights and remedies of the parties are left open.
17. The present writ petition is disposed of in above terms. All the pending applications, if any, are also disposed of.