The Delhi High Court has held that the department is not at fault as petitioner failed to check the portal, did not respond to show cause notice.
The bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta has observed that Since the Petitioner has not been diligent in checking the portal, no reply to the Show Cause Notice has been filed by the Petitioner. Thus the department cannot be blamed. However, the Petitioner is permitted to file an appeal against the impugned order before the Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 along with the pre-deposit on the tax amount in terms of the said provision.
The petitioner, Sandeep Garg is proprietor of M/s Aares Spring Industries assailing the order passed by the department on the ground that it has been passed without hearing the Petitioner and even the Show Cause Notice has not been served to the Petitioner.
The Petitioner is a proprietorship firm having its principal place of business. The Petitioner is engaged in the business of Trading and manufacturing of plastic components, nut bolts etc.
The case of the Petitioner is that the Show Cause Notice was issued by the Respondent in the ‘additional notices and orders’ tab instead of the ‘notices and orders’ tab and thus is not a proper mode of service.
The Petitioner submitted that the accountant of the Petitioner was not accessing the portal as it was not working at that time and, therefore, the reply could not be filed.
The Court noted that the Show Cause Notice is dated 26th December 2023 and the change in the portal was on 16th January, 2024, however, it was pointed out that a reminder notice dated 9th February 2024 was given.
The court disposed of the writ petition.
Case Details
Case Title: Sandeep Garg Versus Sales Tax Officer
Case No.: W.P.(C) 5846/2025, CM APPLs. 26721/2025 & 26722/2025
Date: 5 May, 2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Rajeev Aggarwal
Counsel For Respondent: Vaishali Gupta
