No Violation of Natural Justice if SCN Served by Email | HC

Case Details: DK Enterprises vs. Union of India - [2025] 178 taxmann.com 752 (Delhi)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Prathiba M. Singh & Shail Jain, JJ.
• Viraj Datar,
• Viraj Datar, Sr. Adv., Kartik Jindal, Ms. Palak Gupta and Rajiv Sorihi, Advs. for the Petitioner.
• Ms. Anushree Narain, SSC, Naman Choula, Ms. Khushi Ramuka, Advs. and Siddhartha Shankar Ray, CGSC for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner, a registered assessee under GST, was issued a show cause notice (SCN) through e-mail alleging fraudulent availment of input tax credit (ITC). The petitioner contended that the SCN and subsequent hearing notices were not uploaded on the portal, and when approached the department to file a reply, was asked to upload the response on the portal, thereby denying an opportunity to present their case. The petitioner argued that the impugned order should be set aside due to violation of principles of natural justice. The legal issue arising was whether service of SCN by e-mail, coupled with the assessee’s awareness of proceedings, constituted a breach of natural justice and whether writ jurisdiction could be invoked to challenge the impugned order. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court.

High Court Held

The High Court held that there was no violation of natural justice as the SCN was served by e-mail and the assessee had complete knowledge of the proceedings. The Court noted that a detailed departmental analysis demonstrated that the assessee intended to fraudulently avail ITC and pass it on through a network of dummy entities. The impugned order was accessible to the assessee well before the filing of the writ petition, and the petitioner’s challenge was beyond the limitation period for statutory appeal. The Court permitted the assessee to pursue the statutory remedy of appeal under Section 16, read with Section 107, of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017/Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.