Calcutta HC set aside GST proceedings where a show-cause notice on the additional portal was not considered; mandated fresh hearing on merits.
Calcutta HC Quashes GST Orders for Overlooked Notices
The Calcutta High Court set aside GST assessment and demand orders because the adjudicating authority failed to consider a show-cause notice uploaded on an additional notices portal. The taxpayer had been served through this alternate channel, but the department ignored it during proceedings.
The Court ruled that failure to consider officially communicated notices violates audi alterum partem. It held that once a notice is served through a designated government portal, it constitutes valid service, and ignoring it renders subsequent orders void.
Where a statutory notice is uploaded on a recognised departmental portal and accessible to the taxpayer, it must be treated as effective service. Proceeding ex parte without acknowledging such notice is procedural illegality.
This decision reinforces digital service norms under GST. Practitioners must ensure all communication portals—main and auxiliary—are monitored. Authorities are now expected to integrate multi-portal tracking into compliance workflows.
