Objection on Non-issue of DRC-01A was Hypertechnical when Entire Tax Amount was Disputed by Petitioner: HC

Case Details: Elesh Agrawal v. Union of India - [2023] 151 taxmann.com 538 (Allahabad)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Saumitra Dayal Singh & Rajendra Kumar-IV, JJ.
  • Dileep Chandra Mathur for the Petitioner.
  • A.S.G.I., Dhananjay Awasthi & Gopal Verma for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In this petition, the petitioner challenged the demand cum show cause notice issued under Form GST DRC-01 by the department. The petitioner contended that show cause notice (SCN) had been issued in Form GST DRC-01 but the liability was not intimated in Form GST DRC-01A before issuing. SCN.

It was also contended that he did not get an opportunity to pay alleged defaulted amount with penalty on self-assessment basis and the SCN was not uploaded in GST portal and no notice was served by electronic means.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the revenue authorities must give reasonable opportunity of hearing in adjudication proceedings, and further preliminary notice may be issued not on Form GST DRC-01 but on Form GST DRC-01A.

However, the entire tax amount was disputed by the petitioner and objection on non-issue of DRC-01A was hypertechnical. Therefore, no prejudice was caused to petitioner by mention of wrong form number as SCN had been issued to show cause and no other ground had been made out for invoking writ jurisdiction.

Thus, the Court directed the department to ensure documents shall be uploaded in GST portal and communicated to petitioner by electronic means. The Court also granted time to the petitioner to file reply to SCN.