Facts of the Case

M/s Alvin Industries (the Petitioner) filed WPA 25963 of 2023 before the High Court at Calcutta against the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Goods and Service Tax, Baruipur Charge, and other WBGST authorities, aggrieved by the issuance of seven separate demand notices in Form GST DRC-07, all traceable to the same financial year 2017-18. The State's counsel attributed the multiplicity of notices to technical glitches in the WBGST system. The matter was heard and disposed of on 05.12.2023 by Justice Md. Nizamuddin.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the issuance of seven duplicate demand notices in Form GST DRC-07 for the same financial year 2017-18 was valid.
  2. What relief the petitioner was entitled to, given the State's own admission of a technical glitch causing the duplication.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner was aggrieved by the WBGST authority issuing seven separate demand notices in Form GST DRC-07, all traceable to the same financial year 2017-18.
  • Multiple demand notices for a single financial year exposed the petitioner to duplicated, and potentially cumulative, recovery action arising from what was, in substance, one underlying assessment.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The State GST authority, through counsel, candidly submitted that the multiplicity of notices arose from technical glitches in the WBGST system.
  • On instructions, the State submitted that only one demand — the Form GST DRC-07 dated 29th August 2023, appearing at page 104 of the writ petition — would be treated as effective, and that the remaining six demand notices would not be given effect to.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court accepted the State's statement, proceeding on the basis that the duplication was attributable to a system-level technical glitch rather than any deliberate multiple assessment for the same period.
  • The Court directed that only the single Form GST DRC-07 demand dated 29 August 2023 would remain effective, with the other six duplicate demand notices for the same financial year not being given effect to, holding that all legal consequences would follow automatically from this position.
  • The writ petition, WPA 25963 of 2023, was accordingly disposed of.

Important Clarification

  • Where a taxpayer is confronted with multiple, duplicate GST demand notices (Form GST DRC-07) for the same financial year traceable to a portal or system-level glitch, courts can secure a statement from the State GST authority isolating the single genuinely effective demand and discharging the rest, without a full merits adjudication.
  • Such State concessions, once recorded in a court order, bind the department going forward ("all legal consequences will follow automatically"), giving the taxpayer certainty as to which single demand survives and needs to be contested or complied with.

Sections Involved

  • Form GST DRC-07, CGST/WBGST Rules, 2017 — summary of the order confirming a tax demand, issued electronically on the GST portal.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the Assessee — six of the seven duplicate demand notices for FY 2017-18 were rendered inoperative on the State's own concession, leaving only the single demand notice dated 29 August 2023 effective against the petitioner.

Related Case Laws

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

Case Details

  • Court: High Court at Calcutta
  • Case No.: WPA 25963 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available on record
  • Coram: Justice Md. Nizamuddin
  • Decision Date: 05.12.2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed - only one of seven duplicate demand notices to remain effective

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