Facts of the Case

M/s Vijay Sharma Contractor challenged an order dated 20.04.2024 passed by the Commercial Tax Officer under Section 73 of the U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner's registration under the Act had already been cancelled on 14.10.2019, after which no business was carried out. A show-cause notice was nonetheless uploaded on the GST portal, and the impugned order was passed pursuant to it.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a show-cause notice uploaded only on the GST portal validly binds an assessee whose GST registration was already cancelled at the time of upload.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Once registration is cancelled, the assessee is not obligated to keep checking the GST portal, and the mode of service of any show-cause notice must be by alternative means.
  • Relied on the coordinate Bench ruling in M/s Katyal Industries v. State of U.P., which the Court found itself in essential agreement with.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No specific rebuttal on the service issue is recorded; the Standing Counsel appeared for the State.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court held that once registration has been cancelled, the petitioner is not obligated to check the GST portal, and that service of any show-cause notice on such a person must be by alternative means.
  • Agreeing with the principle in Katyal Industries, the Court found a violation of natural justice, and the impugned order dated 20.04.2024 was quashed and set aside.
  • The department was given liberty to issue a proper notice to the petitioner and proceed in accordance with law.

Important Clarification

  • Portal-only service of a show-cause notice is not treated as effective service on a person whose GST registration already stands cancelled, since such a person has no continuing occasion or obligation to monitor the portal; the department must adopt an alternative mode of service in such cases.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73 of the UPGST Act, 2017 — determination of tax not paid/short paid.
  • Principle on service of notice on an assessee with cancelled GST registration.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the Assessee — the impugned order was quashed for improper service, with liberty to the department to issue a proper notice.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad — Case No.: Writ Tax No. 3670 of 2025 — Neutral Citation: 2025:AHC:133329-DB — Coram: Hon'ble Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Praveen Kumar Giri — Date of Order: 6 August 2025.

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