Facts of the Case

M/s Khandewal Infotech challenged two orders dated 25.09.2023 and 13.12.2023 passed by the Commercial Tax Officer, Bareilly, under Section 73 of the GST Act, 2017, creating a demand for FY 2017-18. It was submitted that the notices under Section 73 had been uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal, rather than the 'Due Notices and Orders' tab, so that the petitioner remained unaware of the notice and the orders and could not question their validity within the limitation period.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether orders passed pursuant to notices uploaded only under the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab of the GST portal, instead of the standard tab, can be sustained.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The notices and orders were uploaded under the wrong portal tab, leaving the petitioner without effective knowledge and unable to respond within limitation.
  • The identical issue was decided in Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P., which in turn relied on M/s Mohini Traders v. State of U.P.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Based on the material available, counsel for the Department did not dispute that the notices and orders were uploaded on the 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab, and accepted the matter was covered by Ola Fleet Technologies.

Court Order / Findings

  • Applying Ola Fleet Technologies, the Court held the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of doubt as to non-communication of the notices/orders, since the assessing officer has no control over which portal tab an order is displayed under.
  • Both impugned orders dated 25.09.2023 and 13.12.2023 were quashed and set aside.
  • The Assessing Officer was permitted to issue a fresh notice, with at least fifteen days' clear notice, based on which further proceedings may take place.

Important Clarification

  • The GST portal's tab-placement defect ('Additional Notices and Orders' versus 'Due Notices and Orders') continues to be treated as an institutional, not assessee-attributable, failure — entitling the assessee to a fresh, properly notified proceeding regardless of how many orders were affected.

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 — both impugned orders were quashed for defective service via the wrong portal tab, with liberty to issue a fresh notice.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad — Case No.: Writ Tax No. 3796 of 2025 — Neutral Citation: 2025:AHC:136760-DB — Coram: Hon'ble Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Praveen Kumar Giri — Date of Order: 12 August 2025.

Link to Download the Order

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