Uploading SCN solely on GST portal after cancellation of registration is invalid service violating natural justice.

By | September 26, 2026
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Uploading SCN solely on GST portal after cancellation of registration is invalid service violating natural justice.

Issue

Whether service of a Show Cause Notice (SCN) effected solely by uploading it on the GST portal after the taxpayer’s registration has been cancelled is legally valid under Section 169 read with Sections 74 and 75 of the CGST/UPGST Act.

Facts

  • Cancellation of Registration: The petitioner’s GST registration was cancelled on 16.11.2021, and no business operations were carried out thereafter.
  • Issuance of SCN: Following the cancellation, the Revenue issued an SCN by uploading it exclusively on the GST portal.
  • Ex-Parte Assessment Order: An ex-parte assessment order dated 12.04.2022 was passed against the petitioner by the Deputy Commissioner.
  • Writ Challenge: The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the assessment order on the ground of breach of natural justice due to improper service of notice.

Decision

  • No Obligation to Access Portal: The High Court held that once a GST registration is cancelled, the taxpayer is under no legal obligation to routinely log in or check the GST portal.
  • Insufficiency of Portal Service: Merely uploading the SCN on the GST portal post-cancellation does not fulfill the statutory requirement for proper service under Section 169.
  • Violation of Natural Justice: Serving notice solely through the portal after cancellation deprived the petitioner of an opportunity to respond, constituting a clear violation of the principles of natural justice.
  • Order Quashed: The impugned assessment order was quashed and set aside, reserving liberty to the Revenue to issue proper notice through alternative statutory means and proceed in accordance with law.

Key Takeaways

  1. Alternative Service Mandatory Post-Cancellation: Once GST registration stands cancelled, service of notices must be executed via physical dispatch or direct communication channels rather than relying exclusively on portal uploads.
  2. Absence of Statutory Duty to Check Portal: Taxpayers with cancelled GST registrations are not expected or legally mandated to monitor portal updates or notifications.
  3. Invalid Service Vitiates Assessment: Assessment orders passed on the back of defective service violate fundamental principles of natural justice and are liable to be set aside by writ courts.
HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Ved Enterprises
v.
State of U.P.
Alok Mathur and Amitabh Kumar Rai, JJ.
WRIT TAX No. 1101 of 2026
SEPTEMBER  9, 2026
Mukesh Kumar Tewari for the Petitioner.
ORDER
1. Heard Sri Mukesh Kumar Tewari, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the State.
2. This is a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India wherein the petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 12.04.2022 passed by the respondent No.2/ Deputy Commissioner State Tax, Sector-1, Unnao Section 74 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).
3. Factual matrix in the matter is that the petitioner’s registration under the Act was cancelled on 16.11.2021. Subsequent to the same, no business was carried out by the petitioner. It appears that a show cause notice was uploaded on the GST portal and subsequent to the same, the order impugned was passed under Section 74 of the Act.
4. Once the registration has been cancelled, the petitioner is not obligated to check GST portal. The mode of service of any show cause notice has to be by way of alternative means to the petitioner.
5. Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner relies upon an order passed by the coordinate Bench of this Court in Katyal Industries v. State of U.P. 2024:AHC:23697-DB. We are essentially in agreement with the said principle enunciated by the coordinate Bench in the said order.
6. We find that there has been violation of the principle of natural justice, and accordingly, the impugned order dated 12.04.2022 passed by the respondent No.2 is quashed and set aside. The department shall be at liberty to issue a proper notice to the petitioner and act in accordance with law.
7. It is made clear that any amount recovered from the petitioner in pursuance of the assessment previously made shall be subject to the final outcome as per directions of this Court in the present order.
8. With the above direction, the writ petition is disposed of.