Order Date – 02 June 2025

Parties: TVL. Dee Dee Creations Vs Deputy State Tax Officer-2, Tiruppur (North)-1 Assessment Circle

Facts –

• The Petitioner, TVL. Dee Dee Creations, submit that a show cause notice and all other allied communications were uploaded on ''View Additional notices/orders'', which was unnoticed by the petitioner and hence, the petitioner failed to file reply to such show cause notice and appear before the respondent.
• Without even affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, passed the impugned order confirming the proposals contained in the show cause notice, which even was unknown to the petitioner and only when the bank account of the petitioner came to be attached.

Issue –

• Whether an assessment order passed solely on online portal notice, without alternative service or personal hearing, violates principles of natural justice?

Order –

• The Single Bench of Hon’ble High Court observed that sending notice by uploading in portal is a sufficient service, but, the Officer who finds no response from the petitioner to the show cause notices, instead of sending repeated reminders, should have applied his/her mind and explored the possibility of sending notices by way of other modes prescribed in Section 169 of the GST Act, which are also the valid mode of service under the Act, otherwise, the service of notice will not be deemed to be an effective service, rather, it would only fulfilling the empty formalities.
• Thus, when there is no response from the tax payer to the notice sent through a particular mode, the Officer who is issuing notices should strictly explore the possibilities of sending notices through some other mode as prescribed in Section 169(1) of the Act, preferably by way of RPAD, which would ultimately achieve the object of the GST Act.
• Therefore, the Court inclined to set aside the impugned order, as the same suffers from the violation of principles of natural justice.