Order dated 01 August 2025
Parties: M/S Shakthi Industries. V. State Of Uttar Pradesh And 2 Others

Facts –

• The petitioner Arti Agarwal, wife of deceased Rajesh Agarwal has filed the petition inter alia with the submissions that Rajesh had died on 9.10.2018 and on account of his death, the GST registration of the proprietorship firm M/s Shakti Industries, which was in the name of deceased Rajesh was cancelled. Whereafter a show cause notice dated 27.9.2023 was issued in the name of deceased Rajesh under Section 73 of the valid.
   
• However, as the same was uploaded on the portal and the GST registration had already been cancelled, there was no occasion for the petitioner to have accessed the said portal, the show cause notice remained unanswered which resulted in passing of the order dated 08.12.2023 raising demand against the deceased.

Issue –

• Whether the order dated 08.12.2023 raising demand against the deceased is valid?

Order -

• The division bench of the Hon’ble High court held that the provision section 93 of the GST act does not deal with the fact as to whether the determination at all can take place against a deceased person and the said provision cannot and does not authorise the determination to be made against a dead person and recovery thereof from the legal representative.
• Once the provision deals with the liability of a legal representative on account of death of the proprietor of the firm, it is sine qua non that the legal representative is issued a show cause notice and after seeking response from the legal representative, the determination should take place.
• In view thereof, the determination made in the present case wherein the show cause notice was issued and the determination was made against the dead person without issuing notice to the legal representative, cannot be sustained.