Opportunity to Be Given to Assessee to Respond to SCN as He Was Unable to Access GSTN Portal | HC

Case Details: S. Sesappan v. Deputy State Tax Officer-2 - [2024] 167 taxmann.com 419 (Madras)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Mohammed Shaffiq, J.
• A. Satheesh Murugan, for the Appellant.
• J.K. Jayaselan, Government Adv. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner was a work contractor and had executed works contract for various Government authorities. He was also registered under the GST Act and had filed monthly returns reporting inward and outward supplies in the prescribed GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. On scrutinizing the returns, certain discrepancies between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B were found, which were treated as suppression of outward tax supply. The petitioner was issued notice in Form ASMT-10 followed by notice in DRC-01A and DRC-01 and personal hearing intimations were also sent via e-mail.

The petitioner was unable to respond to the notices as he was not aware of the notices, which were uploaded in the portal. Thus, the petitioner was unable to access the GSTIN portal and unable to participate in the adjudication proceedings. Aggrieved by the order, the petitioner filed a writ petition contending that there were several technical glitches in the portal with the introduction of GST. The petitioner was also taking time to adapt to the e-mechanism, and it was only in view of the same that he was unable to respond to the above notices and the order of adjudication.

High Court Held

The Madras High Court held that the petitioner was unable to access the GSTIN portal and, hence, could not participate in the adjudication proceedings. The petitioner was not adapted to the e-mechanism after the introduction of GST. Thus, one final opportunity was to be granted to the petitioner to put forth their objections before the Adjudicating Authority.