The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench has quashed a GST show cause notice issued in the name of RedBus India Private Limited after its merger with MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited, holding that the notice should have been issued in the name of the amalgamated company.
The Bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai set aside the notice. However, it granted the tax department liberty to proceed in accordance with law.
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The dispute arose from proceedings under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relating to the financial year 2021–2022.
According to the factual position recorded by the Court, RedBus India Private Limited merged with MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited with effect from February 1, 2026.
The petitioner communicated the merger to the department on June 12, 2026, through a submission made in response to a show cause notice under Section 73.
Despite this communication, a fresh show cause notice dated August 3, 2026, was issued in the name of RedBus India Private Limited. MakeMyTrip consequently approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The petitioner sought the quashing of the notice issued in Form GST DRC-01, along with an accompanying communication of the same date titled “Notice for framing order in remanded cases”.
It also requested a declaration that proceedings initiated pursuant to the notice were void ab initio. Pending disposal of the petition, it sought a stay on further proceedings, including the passing of any order pursuant to the challenged notice.
The High Court’s brief order does not elaborate on the earlier remand proceedings, the underlying tax allegations or the amount involved.
The petitioner argued that, once the merger had taken effect, the show cause notice should have been issued in the name of the amalgamated company, MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited.
The Court’s decision turned on the identity of the company to which the fresh notice was addressed, in circumstances where the merger had already taken effect and had been communicated to the department.
Accordingly, the Bench quashed and set aside the show cause notice and disposed of the writ petition.
The Court expressly preserved the department’s liberty to proceed in accordance with law. The order therefore grants relief against the challenged notice without deciding the underlying tax liability for financial year 2021–2022.
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