Facts of the Case

M/s Siddhi Vinayak Khadyan Bhandar challenged an order dated 29.12.2023 passed under Section 73 of the GST Act, 2017 by the Commercial Tax Officer, Kanpur. It was submitted that the notices issued under Section 73 had been uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal rather than the standard 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, leaving the petitioner unaware of the notices and the order until it was too late to respond or appeal within limitation.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether an order passed pursuant to notices uploaded only under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal — rather than the tab an assessee ordinarily monitors — can be sustained.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The notices and order were uploaded under the wrong portal tab, depriving the petitioner of any real opportunity to respond within limitation.
  • The identical issue was already decided in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P., which itself relied on M/s Mohini Traders v. State of U.P.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Department, based on material on record, did not dispute that the notices and order had been uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab instead of the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, and accepted that the issue was covered by Ola Fleet Technologies.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court extensively reproduced Ola Fleet Technologies, which held that the assessing officer has no choice in how the portal displays an order to the assessee — that is a matter for the GST Network — and that the petitioner is entitled to the benefit of doubt in such cases.
  • Applying the same reasoning, the impugned order dated 29.12.2023 was quashed and set aside.
  • The Assessing Officer was permitted to issue a fresh notice, with at least fifteen days' clear notice, and proceed further in accordance with law.

Important Clarification

  • Where notices/orders are shown to have been uploaded on the GST portal's 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab rather than the standard tab, this line of Allahabad High Court precedent grants the assessee the benefit of doubt regardless of the underlying merits, since the portal architecture is outside the assessing officer's control.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73 of the GST Act, 2017 — determination of tax not paid/short paid.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the Assessee — the impugned order was quashed for defective service via the wrong portal tab, with liberty to issue a fresh, properly-served notice.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad — Case No.: Writ Tax No. 4744 of 2025 — Coram: Hon'ble Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Arun Kumar — Date of Order: 26 September 2025.

Link to Download the Order

Click here to view/download the full order

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