System-Generated Notice Without Officer’s Name is Invalid; Allahabad HC Quashes Cancellation Order
Issue
Whether a Show Cause Notice (SCN) for cancellation of GST registration is legally valid if it is a “System Generated Notice” that fails to mention the name, designation, or office of the issuing authority, and merely bears the digital footer “Jurisdictional Officer System Generated Notice.”
Facts
The Petitioner: M/s M Y Ent Bhatta, a registered taxpayer.
The Notice: The petitioner received a Show Cause Notice dated 14.11.2023 proposing the cancellation of their GST registration for non-filing of returns.
The Defect: The notice did not contain the name, designation, or office of the issuing authority. It was signed merely as “Jurisdictional Officer System Generated Notice, Contact Jurisdiction Office for further process.”
The Order: Following this defective notice, the department passed an order on 05.01.2024 cancelling the petitioner’s registration.
Department’s Defense: The Revenue argued that under GSTN advisories, documents generated on the common portal by officers logging in with digital signatures do not require a physical signature, implying the system-generated tag was sufficient.
Decision
The Allahabad High Court allowed the writ petition and quashed both the defective Show Cause Notice and the subsequent cancellation order.
Authority Vests in Officers, Not Systems: The Court held that under the GST Act, the power to issue notices and pass orders is vested in specific “proper officers,” not in a computer system. A “system” cannot be a jurisdictional authority.
Identity is Mandatory: A valid legal notice must clearly identify the person issuing it (Name and Designation) so the recipient knows who has assumed jurisdiction. An anonymous notice is void.
Advisory Misplaced: The Court clarified that the GSTN advisory regarding digital signatures applies only where the name and office of the authority are indicated but the physical/digital signature is not visible. It cannot be used to justify a notice that is completely anonymous and lacks the officer’s identity.
Key Takeaways
Anonymity Vitiates Notice: A tax notice is a statutory document. If it lacks the identity of the issuing officer, it suffers from a fundamental jurisdictional defect that renders it unenforceable.
System Generation is Not a Shield: Tax authorities cannot hide behind “system-generated” templates to bypass basic legal requirements of identifying the adjudicating authority.
Right to Know Jurisdiction: A taxpayer has a fundamental right to know which officer is proceeding against them to address their reply correctly.
Liberty to Re-issue: While quashing the order, the Court granted the department liberty to issue a fresh, legally compliant notice to proceed with the matter in accordance with the law.