Topic
Show-cause notices, adjudication orders, limitation and natural justice in demand proceedings.
150 rulings
Chhattisgarh High Court
Where petitioners challenged show cause notices alleging ITC availment through fake invoices, as these notices merely reproduced statutory phrases of fraud or suppression without disclosing foundational facts or sufficient reasoning, action was unsustainable and notices were to be quashed with liberty to respondent to issue fresh notices in accordance with law
Calcutta High Court
Where order under Section 73 was passed post summary SCN without affording assessee personal hearing and without communicating date, time or venue, requirement of Section 75(4) was infringed, thus order was to be set aside with direction to adjudicate afresh upon deposit of 10 per cent of disputed tax amount as writ was filed belatedly
Calcutta High Court
Where summary SCN and ex parte order were uploaded only under 'Additional Notices and Orders' tab without separate intimation resulting in delayed reply, and personal hearing was not granted despite section 75(4) mandate, cumulative procedural infirmities invalidated adjudication and required reconsideration of reply after affording personal hearing and passing a fresh reasoned order
Kerala High Court
Where petitioner received a composite show cause notice covering multiple financial years and challenged its legality, as separate notices were required for each assessment year and prior Division Bench decisions confirmed that such composite notices were unsustainable, same was to be quashed with liberty to authorities to issue separate notices for each relevant year
Kerala High Court
Where revenue issued a composite show cause notice covering multiple years to assessee for tax or ITC demands not involving fraud, such composite notice was impermissible under GST law, and therefore was quashed, with liberty to issue separate year-wise notices for each relevant period
Calcutta High Court
Where petitioner challenged adjudication order for July 2017 to March 2018 and no opportunity of hearing was granted despite show cause notice indicating an adverse decision, such order was unsustainable for breach of mandatory hearing requirement under statutory scheme, and matter required remand for fresh decision after granting personal hearing with attachment order quashed
Supreme Court
SLP dismissed against order of High Court that where assessee telecom company was formed by NCLT-approved merger of entities with due intimation to GST authorities and department issued show cause notice and order in name of one amalgamating entity post-merger, initiation or continuation of proceedings against a non-existent entity post merger was void ab initio and without jurisdiction, rendering such orders unsustainable
Kerala High Court
Where a single composite order covered multiple financial years for adjudication of demand not involving fraud, such composite order was invalid in light of Division Bench rulings, consequently order was quashed with liberty granted to issue separate notices for each relevant financial year
Calcutta High Court
Where adjudication order for tax determination was passed after fixing personal hearing before expiry of reply period, with order uploaded incorrectly on portal and full demand realized by bank attachment, opportunity to respond was not afforded in compliance with statutory requirement, thus adjudication was set aside and consequential actions quashed pending proper reply and personal hearing
Gauhati High Court
Where assessee challenged Section 73 proceedings alleging non-service of statutory notice for wrongful ITC, but record showed service of a detailed demand- cum-show-cause notice for the relevant period, contention of absence of notice was unfounded and proceeding was not without jurisdiction, with any residual grievances to be adjudicated in statutory appeal. GST: Where assessee challenged unsigned and allegedly defective Form GST DRC- 07 electronic summary regarding period and quantum, such electronic defects alone did not affect jurisdiction of adjudication order, as summary cannot substitute main adjudication, and any inconsistency among notice, order, and summary must be tested on facts and can be redressed through statutory appeal. GST: Where assessee challenged imposition of interest and penalty as exceeding show-cause notice for period July 2017 to March 2018 invoking section 75(7), since determination of whether order exceeded notice required conjoint examination of notice and order, mere assertion did not warrant writ interference and remedy could be pursued before appellate authority. GST: Where assessee alleged denial of hearing during demand adjudication for July 2017 to March 2018 but records showed service of demand-cum-show-cause and no reply from assessee nor any material indicating exclusion from adjudicatory process, non-compliance with Section 75 could be addressed in statutory appeal and no ground for extraordinary interference was established.…
Karnataka High Court
Where manpower service provider deposited amounts through DRC-03 ahead of any statutory demand or fraud allegation, without DRC-04 acknowledgment and without interest or penalty as required for fraud matters, such payment was not voluntary under GST rules, thus, rejection of refund of such amount was erroneous and refund with interest was directed, keeping adjudication on underlying SCN open
Delhi High Court
Where GST-registered partnership challenged demand raised on grounds of non-consideration of reply to SCN involving allegations of suppression, since full opportunity to contest was provided and disputes pertained to merits involving record appraisal, remedy lay with appellate authority and writ jurisdiction under Article 226 was not warranted, thus writ petition was not maintainable GST: Where petitioner was issued a consolidated SCN covering multiple financial years for alleged fraud under audit, statutory provisions did not require separate notices per year and allowed composite notices, especially where patterns over years were relevant, so mere consolidation of demand periods did not render such notice jurisdictionally defective or warrant writ interference, though limitation objections for any year required fact-based appellate examination
Karnataka High Court
Where same officer conducted audit, issued show cause notice, and passed adjudication order for tax demand not involving fraud, such adjudication violated principles of natural justice, thus, adjudication order was to be quashed and proceedings were to recommence before a different officer from stage of reply to show cause notice with due opportunity of hearing
Calcutta High Court
Where a notice and subsequent recovery order were issued in name of deceased sole-proprietor for fraud-related tax demands after death, such proceedings were void ab initio since SCN must be directed to legal representatives under legal-heir liability scheme, making determination against a non-existent person impermissible and vitiating demand and recovery actions based on such notice
Punjab & Haryana High Court
Where assessee challenged adjudication order alleging denial of personal hearing before adverse determination, and revenue admitted hearing was not granted, non-grant of hearing violated mandatory statutory requirement under section 75(4), vitiating adjudication, thus impugned order stood set aside and matter to proceed afresh after granting hearing
Supreme Court
Where SCN for ITC mismatch and short payment for periods 2018-2019, 2019- 2020 and 2020-2021 was issued on 13.06.2025 after expiry of limitation, statutory outer limit including COVID exclusion ended on 28.02.2025, and audit communications in 2024 did not extend statutory deadlines, notice was time-barred and invocation of omitted explanation to extend limitation was not tenable. GST: Where department initiated demand proceedings alleging ITC taken without documents and suppression but show cause notice contained only bare assertions without foundational facts required for extended limitation, such notice and resultant order were invalid, however liberty was granted to initiate fresh proceedings under section 74 with necessary foundational facts before prescribed date
Kerala High Court
Where a composite show cause notice and adjudication order covering multiple financial years was issued to petitioner for tax or ITC demands not involving fraud, such composite notice is unsustainable in law, thus both the notice and subsequent orders founded on it were quashed, with liberty to issue separate notices for each relevant period being preserved
Kerala High Court
Where a composite show cause notice and consequential order were issued covering multiple financial years for demand of tax or ITC not involving fraud, such composite proceedings were impermissible as per binding Division Bench decisions and both notice and order were to be quashed with liberty to authorities to issue separate notices for each year
GSTAT Thiruvananthapuram
Where assessee faced SCN alleging ineligible ITC based on suppression for multiple years, but there was no proof of fraud, willful misstatement, or contumacious intent, and statutory reconciliations were properly disclosed, mere availment of self-assessed ineligible ITC did not amount to suppression, so demands under section 74 could not be sustained and appeal was allowed. GST: Where SCN under section 74(1) alleged suppression due to ineligible ITC but did not mention non-reply to audit queries or final audit report and Revenue for first time in appeal raised failure to furnish audit information, such new ground violated natural justice as it lacked specificity, proof of willful suppression, or statutory foundation, rendering appellate reversal unsustainable and assessee's appeals allowable
Kerala High Court
Where consolidated show-cause notice covering multiple financial years was issued in respect of tax or ITC demands not involving fraud, such composite notice was invalid as per precedent disallowing clubbing distinct periods, warranting quashing of consolidated notice and granting liberty to issue separate notices for each relevant year