Facts of the Case

The petitioner, HKX Logistics India Private Limited, challenged a show cause notice dated 29.05.2024 and the consequent order dated 17.08.2024 for the tax period April 2019 to March 2020, along with the vires of Notification Nos.56/2023 and 9/2023 (Central and State Tax). A reminder notice dated 24.07.2024 had fixed a personal hearing for 5.08.2024, but the petitioner neither filed a reply nor attended the hearing, and the impugned order was passed without the petitioner having an opportunity to address the case on merits; the petitioner claimed to have learnt of the SCN and order only during a statutory audit in September 2025, attributing it to the 'Additional Notices Tab'.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the challenge to Notifications 9/2023 and 56/2023, pending before the Supreme Court, could independently be adjudicated in this petition.
  2. Whether the petitioner's plea regarding the 'Additional Notices Tab' was tenable given the SCN post-dated the GST Portal's tab-visibility fix of 16 January 2024.
  3. Whether the impugned order nonetheless deserved to be set aside for want of a genuine opportunity to be heard.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The impugned SCN and order were uploaded on the 'Additional Notices Tab' and were not brought to the Petitioner's knowledge until a statutory audit in September 2025.
  • The Petitioner ought to be given a fresh opportunity to file a reply and be heard on merits.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The validity of Notification Nos.9 and 56 of 2023 was squarely under consideration before the Supreme Court in S.L.P. No.4240/2025 and connected batch matters before this Court (Engineers India Limited, W.P.(C) 9214/2024), warranting that issue be kept open rather than decided.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court held that since the impugned SCN (29.05.2024) and order (17.08.2024) both post-dated 16 January 2024, when the 'Additional Notices Tab' was made visible on the GST Portal's general menu, the petitioner's objection on that specific ground was not tenable.
  • Nonetheless, following its own precedent in Sugandha Enterprises v. Commissioner Delhi Goods and Service Tax, where no reply had similarly been filed to an SCN and the resultant order was set aside for want of hearing, the Court set aside the impugned order, granting the petitioner time till 15 January 2026 to file its reply, upon which a personal-hearing notice would issue and a fresh reasoned order would be passed.
  • The order was set aside subject to payment of Rs.20,000 as costs to the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee.
  • The validity challenge to the impugned notifications was expressly left open, to abide by the outcome of the Supreme Court's decision and this Court's ruling in the Engineers India Limited batch, and portal access was directed to be restored within a week.

Important Clarification

  • The 'Additional Notices Tab' defence loses force for SCNs and orders issued after 16 January 2024, once the GST Portal made that tab a visible general-menu item; petitioners relying on this ground for post-fix notices will not succeed on that basis alone.
  • Even where the tab-visibility defence fails, courts will still set aside an ex-parte order where no reply was ever filed and no meaningful hearing took place, remanding for a fresh opportunity — often on payment of costs to discourage a pattern of non-participation before adjudicating authorities.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — determination of tax not paid or short paid.
  • Section 168A of the CGST Act, 2017 — power to extend limitation, under which Notifications 9/2023 and 56/2023 were issued and whose validity remains sub judice.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions substantially in favour of the Assessee — the order was set aside on payment of costs, with a fresh opportunity to reply and be heard, while the notification-validity challenge was left open.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi
Case No.: W.P.(C) 18378/2025 with CM APPL.76101/2025
Coram: Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain
Date of Decision: 4th December, 2025

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