Facts of the Case

Manmeet Singh Khurana, proprietor, filed two connected writ petitions, W.P.(C) 18604/2025 and W.P.(C) 18605/2025, before the High Court of Delhi challenging an order dated 07.03.2024 directing payment of Rs.7,23,136 under the Delhi SGST regime. The dispute spanned two financial years. For Financial Year 2017-2018, the Show Cause Notice and a Reminder Notice had been issued prior to 16.01.2024 and were available only under the 'Additional Notices' tab of the GST Portal — a tab widely acknowledged as less visible than the main notices section before the portal's redesign. For Financial Year 2018-2019, while the Show Cause Notice dated 04.12.2023 was also issued before 16.01.2024, a Reminder Notice was issued later, on 06.02.2024, i.e. after the portal redesign date. It was noted that the petitioner had already deposited the entire tax amount for FY 2018-2019. The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether demand proceedings for FY 2017-2018, where both the Show Cause Notice and Reminder Notice were issued before 16.01.2024 and were visible only under the 'Additional Notices' tab, warranted remand for fresh consideration after a proper hearing.
  2. Whether the position for FY 2018-2019 differed, given that a Reminder Notice was issued on 06.02.2024, after the portal redesign date, such that the petitioner should instead be relegated to the statutory appeal.
  3. Whether the period during which the writ petitions remained pending should be excluded while computing limitation for filing a statutory appeal.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The order dated 07.03.2024, demanding Rs.7,23,136, was liable to be set aside as the underlying notices for FY 2017-2018 were not effectively brought to the petitioner's notice, having been placed only under the 'Additional Notices' tab of the GST Portal prior to the portal's redesign.
  • Consistent with the Court's earlier orders on the same point, the matter for FY 2017-2018 deserved remand for fresh consideration with an opportunity of hearing.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Counsel for the Delhi SGST authorities did not resist a consensus position distinguishing the two financial years based on when the Show Cause Notice and Reminder Notice were issued relative to 16.01.2024, in line with the Court's earlier orders on the point.

Court Order/Findings

  • A consensus emerged between the parties, based on the Court's earlier orders, that the two financial years required different treatment.
  • For FY 2017-2018, since both the Show Cause Notice and the Reminder Notice were issued prior to 16.01.2024 and were available only under the 'Additional Notices' tab, the matter was remitted to the concerned Sales Tax Officer for fresh consideration after affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
  • For FY 2018-2019, since a Reminder Notice had been issued on 06.02.2024 (after the portal redesign date), the petitioner was instead relegated to the statutory remedy of appeal, noting that the entire tax amount for that year had already been deposited.
  • The Court clarified that if and when the appeal for FY 2018-2019 is filed, the petitioner may apply for exclusion of the period during which the writ petition remained pending, to be considered by the Appellate Authority in accordance with law.

Important Clarification

Where a Show Cause Notice and any Reminder Notice were both issued before the GST Portal's 16.01.2024 redesign and were visible only under the less-prominent 'Additional Notices' tab, courts have been inclined to treat this as inadequate notice and remit the matter for a fresh hearing. Where, however, a Reminder Notice was issued after the redesign date, the assessee is more likely to be relegated to the ordinary statutory appeal remedy rather than granted a remand, though the period spent in writ litigation can be excused when computing the appeal's limitation.

Sections Involved

  • Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — the governing statute under which the demand order and show cause notices were issued.
  • Section 73/74, DGST/CGST Act, 2017 — provisions under which the underlying tax demand proceedings were initiated.
  • Section 107, DGST/CGST Act, 2017 — the statutory appellate remedy to which the petitioner was relegated for FY 2018-2019.

Decision – In Favour of

The writ petitions were disposed of with directions rather than a finding on the underlying tax liability, and the outcome is mixed, in part favouring the Assessee: the FY 2017-2018 demand was remitted for a fresh hearing on account of inadequate notice, while the FY 2018-2019 demand was left undisturbed on merits and the petitioner was simply relegated to the statutory appeal, with liberty to seek exclusion of the writ-pendency period from limitation.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi
  • Case No.: W.P.(C) 18604/2025 and W.P.(C) 18605/2025
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Amit Mahajan
  • Decision Date: 17 July 2026
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of with directions (remitted / relegated to appeal)

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