Published on: April 120, 10:16 IST
Delhi High Court has set aside an ex parte order issued against M/S Jain Cement Udyog, citing their inability to access the GST Portal for a show cause notice. The Court’s decision comes as a relief to the company, which was unable to respond to the notice due to the retrospective cancellation of its registration.
The case unfolded during the hearing of a Writ Petition filed by M/S Jain Cement Udyog against the Central Board of Indirect Taxes And Customs. Advocate R.P. Singh represented the petitioner, while Senior Standing Counsel Anurag Ojha appeared for the respondent.
The Delhi High Court Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Ravinder Dudeja said, “It is an admitted case of the Department that in case registration is cancelled retrospectively, the taxpayer cannot access the portal. Accordingly, there is merit in the contention of the petitioner that he was not served with the impugned Show Cause Notice and the impugned order which was issued after the registration was cancelled.”
The petition challenged an order which disposed of an impugned Show Cause Notice, proposing a demand of over ₹7 Crore against M/S Jain Cement Udyog. The notice alleged various discrepancies under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, including under-declaration of output tax, excess claim of Input Tax Credit, and ITC claimed from canceled dealers, return defaulters, and tax non-payers.
The High Court, upon examining the case, observed that the impugned order was issued solely because the petitioner had not filed a reply, a situation exacerbated by the inability to access the GST Portal. The Court deemed such reasoning unsustainable and consequently set aside the order, remanding the matter to the Proper Officer for re-adjudication.
The case titled M/s Jain Cement Udyog v. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC: 2750-DB) saw appearances from various legal representatives, including Adv. Subham Kumar, Adv. Rajeev Aggarwal, ASC Prateek Badhwar, Adv. Shaguftha H. Badhwar, and Adv. Samridh Vats, supporting the respondent.
This decision by the Delhi High Court underscores the importance of procedural fairness and access to administrative platforms in tax disputes, offering relief to M/S Jain Cement Udyog and setting a precedent for similar cases in the future.