The Karnataka High Court has restored the GST registration of a taxpayer after setting aside an ex-parte order passed under Section 73(9) of the KGST/CGST Act, observing that the petitioner could not access communications sent by the department because the registered email account had become inaccessible due to non-renewal of a paid subscription.
The bench of Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav noted that the tax demand involved was relatively small and considered petitioner’s explanation regarding non-receipt of departmental communications and observed that the petitioner claimed to possess documents demonstrating reconciliation between export invoices and corresponding FIRC/BRC records.
The petitioner/assessee challenged the validity of the order passed under Section 73(9) of the KGST/CGST Act and sought quashing of the tax demand proceedings.
The petitioner contended that the ex-parte order had been passed because notices and communications were sent to an email ID that had become inaccessible as it was a paid email account and the subscription had lapsed. As a result, the petitioner could not respond to the proceedings initiated by the department.
The petitioner further submitted that the proceedings arose due to discrepancies pointed out in Form ASMT-10 and that he had failed to furnish clarifications regarding export invoices and reconciliation statements correlating export invoices with corresponding Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates (FIRC) and Bank Realisation Certificates (BRC).
Before the Court, the petitioner argued that he was now in possession of all relevant documents and was prepared to furnish a proper reply to the show cause notice along with reconciliation materials to explain the discrepancies alleged by the department. He requested the Court to condone the lapse and remit the matter back to the stage of filing reply to the show cause notice.
The High Court held that, in such circumstances, it would be appropriate to remit the matter for fresh consideration so that the petitioner could place all relevant materials before the tax authorities. Accordingly, the Court set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the stage of reply to the show cause notice.
The Court directed the petitioner to appear before the respondent authority on 25 May 2026 without awaiting any further notice and clarified that all contentions of both parties were kept open for adjudication.
The High Court also directed restoration of the petitioner’s GST registration forthwith, noting that the cancellation had occurred pursuant to the impugned proceedings which had now been set aside.
Case Details
Case Title: ANISH J. DASS Versus Assistant Commissioner Of Commercial Taxes
Citation: JURISHOUR-1112-HC-2026(KAR)
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 9974 Of 2026 (T-Res)
Date: 29 APRIL, 2026
Counsel For Petitioner: Harshith N Balakrishna., Advocate
Counsel For Respondent: Jyoti Maradi, HCGP
