Facts of the Case: M/S Dev Enterprises, through its Proprietor Harpreet Singh, challenged a notice and an order-in-original that had been uploaded only in the 'View Additional Notices and Orders' tab on the GST common portal (www.gst.gov.in). The short legal question before the Punjab and Haryana High Court was whether such upload, without more, amounts to proper service of the notice and order under Section 169 read with Section 146 of the CGST Act, 2017 — an issue already extensively examined by the same Court in Luxmi Traders v. Union Territory of Chandigarh and further clarified in The Amar Cooperative LC Society Ltd. v. State of Haryana.

Issues Involved:

  1. Whether mere uploading of a Show Cause Notice or order-in-original on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST common portal constitutes valid service under Section 169.
  2. Whether the retrospective amendment introducing Section 115 (validating certain notifications relating to the common portal) alters this position.

Petitioner's Arguments:

  • None of the provisions of the CGST Rules, 2017 refer to the Common Portal as a mode for service of a Show Cause Notice or order — the Rules confine the Common Portal's role to specific functions such as registration, returns, payment and refunds, not service of adjudicatory communications.
  • Being an illiterate person, the petitioner had no actual knowledge of the order uploaded only on the portal.

Respondent's Arguments:

  • Revenue argued that service by uploading on the Common Portal cannot be discarded where the assessee has actual knowledge and has contested the proceedings by filing a reply.
  • It was further contended that Section 115, introduced by the Finance Act, 2022, retrospectively empowered the Government to treat the Common Portal as validly notified for all functions under the CGST Rules, including service.

Court Order / Findings:

  • The Court reaffirmed its conclusions in Luxmi Traders: service by mere uploading on the Common Portal is insufficient unless its receipt is acknowledged or a reply is filed; where an ex parte order is passed on that basis, the proceedings must be restored to the SCN stage with liberty to reply within four weeks; and where a contested order is served only via the portal, the limitation for filing an appeal does not begin to run until actual receipt.
  • Considering the Section 115 amendment argument, the Court in Amar Cooperative LC Society (followed here) held that even the retrospectively amended notification does not extend Common Portal functions to service of SCNs/orders, since none of the specific Rules referencing the Common Portal deal with service — that function remains governed by Rule 142's requirement of electronic communication of the actual document, not mere portal upload.
  • Since the order here was uploaded only on the Common Portal and the petitioner, being illiterate, had no knowledge of it, the writ petition was disposed of in terms of Luxmi Traders, with any bank attachment pursuant to the impugned order revoked, and, if 10% pre-deposit had already been made, the appeal to be heard and decided on merits.

Important Clarification:

  • Uploading a Show Cause Notice or order-in-original solely under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab on the GST common portal does not, by itself, satisfy Section 169 service requirements — the retrospective Finance Act, 2022 amendment relating to the Common Portal's notified functions does not extend to service of SCNs/orders, and where no reply/acknowledgment exists, the proceedings must revert to the SCN stage.

Sections Involved:

  • Section 169, CGST Act, 2017 — modes of service of notice/order.
  • Section 146, CGST Act, 2017 — Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal.
  • Section 115, CGST Act (Finance Act, 2022) — retrospective validation of Common Portal notification, held not to extend to service.

Decision – In Favour of: Assessee.

Case Details: High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh; CWP-10231-2025 (O&M); Coram: Hon'ble The Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohit Kapoor; Date of Decision: 27.07.2026.

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