The Patna High Court has held that mere uploading of notices on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) portal under ‘Additional Notices and Orders’ does not constitute valid service.
A division bench comprising Justice P.B. Bajanthri and Justice S.B. Pd. Singh ruled in favour of the petitioner-firm, observing that the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Patna West Circle, had failed to provide a valid opportunity of personal hearing before finalizing the assessment order for the financial year 2017–18.
The petitioner, Shree Shyam Trading Co. challenged the assessment order dated August 31, 2023. The firm argued that no valid notice or show cause notice had been served as required under Section 169 of the BGST Act. No opportunity for personal hearing was granted as mandated under Section 75(4). Notices were merely uploaded under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab on the GST portal, which does not fulfill the service requirements of the law.
The bench noted that the show cause notice lacked any specified date, time, or venue for a personal hearing, thereby denying the petitioner the opportunity to appear and be heard — a clear breach of Section 75(4).
The Court emphasized that statutory authorities must comply with at least two valid modes of service under Section 169 and cannot assume that taxpayers are constantly monitoring the portal for updates.
The court, while setting aside the assessment order and subsequent demand notice in Form DRC-07, directed that the competent authority must issue a fresh notice clearly mentioning the date, time, and venue for the hearing, with a minimum 15-day notice period. The entire reassessment process must be completed within four months from the receipt of the Court’s order.
Case Details
Case Title: M/s. Shree Shyam Trading Co. Versus Union of India
Case No.: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.5661 of 2025
Date: 09-07-2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Mohit Agarwal, Advocate
Counsel For Respondent: Vivek Prasad
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