Writ Dismissed for Non-Reply to SCN and Disputed Facts | HC

Case Details: G.P. Tronics (P.) Ltd. vs. State of West Bengal - [2025] 174 taxmann.com 957 (Calcutta)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.
• Himangshu Kumar Ray, Ms Shiwani Shaw, Subhasis Podder, A. Roy & Gourav Chakraborty for the Petitioner.
• Anirban Ray, Ld. GP, T. M. Siddiqui, Ld. AGP, T. Chakraborty & S. Sanyal for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner is engaged in the business of electronic goods and was issued a show-cause notice under Section 73 of the CGST/WBGST Act, 2017 for the tax period April 2018 to March 2019. The notice in Form DRC-1 was served to which the petitioner did not submit a reply within the stipulated time. Instead, an adjournment was sought and granted, but even thereafter, no response was filed. Consequently, the adjudicating authority passed an ex parte order. The aggrieved petitioner filed a writ petition before the Calcutta High Court alleging denial of an opportunity of hearing.

High Court Held

The Hon’ble Calcutta High Court held that the petitioner had failed to respond to the show-cause notice despite being granted an adjournment and that the matter involved disputed questions of fact, which are best addressed through the appellate mechanism provided under the GST law. The Court also noted the delay of about seven months in filing the writ petition, for which no satisfactory explanation was provided. It ruled that the writ remedy was not appropriate in the presence of a statutory alternative and dismissed the petition. However, it permitted the petitioner to file an appeal within four weeks, subject to compliance with procedural requirements and an application for condonation of delay, and directed the appellate authority to decide the appeal on merits.