Facts of the Case

The petitioner, M/S A R Traders, challenged an order dated 25.04.2024 passed by the Commercial Tax Officer, State Tax, Kanpur Sector-25, Kanpur (D), under Section 73 of the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, creating a demand against it. The petitioner's case was that the Section 73 notices had been uploaded only on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST Portal, and consequently the petitioner remained unaware of both the notice and the resultant order and could not respond within limitation.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether uploading of the notice and order only on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab entitled the petitioner to a benefit of doubt as to due communication.
  2. Whether the impugned order deserved to be quashed with a direction for a fresh, properly-served notice.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Notices under Section 73 were uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab rather than the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, depriving the petitioner of knowledge of the proceedings within limitation.
  • The issue was covered by Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. & 2 others (Writ Tax No. 855 of 2024, decided 22.7.2024).

Respondent's Arguments

  • Counsel for the Department did not dispute the factual position regarding the tab under which the notice and order had been uploaded, and did not contest that the issue was covered by Ola Fleet Technologies.

Court Order / Findings

  • Applying the reasoning in Ola Fleet Technologies — that an order not reflecting under the assessee-facing "view notices and orders" tab, but only under "additional notice and orders", entitles the assessee to a benefit of doubt — the Court allowed the writ petition and quashed and set aside the order dated 25.04.2024.
  • The Assessing Officer was directed to issue a fresh notice with at least 15 clear days, in the manner prescribed by law, and to proceed with further proceedings based on that notice.

Important Clarification

  • The Allahabad High Court continues to apply the Ola Fleet Technologies benefit-of-doubt principle uniformly to Section 73 orders where notices were confined to the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab, regardless of whether the portal-design issue is attributable to the assessing officer or to GSTN.
  • The consistent remedy in such cases is quashing of the order with a direction to issue a fresh notice affording at least 15 clear days, rather than relegating the assessee to the appellate remedy.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — determination of tax not paid or short paid, or ITC wrongly availed, for reasons other than fraud.

Decision – In Favour of

Allowed in favour of the Assessee; the impugned order was quashed with a direction to issue a fresh 15-day notice and proceed afresh in accordance with law.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
Case No.: Writ Tax No. 4838 of 2025
Coram: Hon'ble Shekhar B. Saraf, J. and Hon'ble Praveen Kumar Giri, J.
Date of Order: 23rd September, 2025

Link to Download the Order

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