Bombay High Court Sets Aside Ex Parte GST Demand Order Uploaded in Wrong Section of GST Portal

Case Overview

Case: T S Lines India Pvt. Ltd. Vs State of Maharashtra and Ors.
Court: Bombay High Court
Provision in Question: Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Constitutional Basis: Article 226 of the Constitution of India

In a significant ruling reinforcing the principles of natural justice within GST proceedings, the Bombay High Court intervened to quash an ex parte demand order that had been uploaded in an incorrect section of the GST portal — thereby denying the assessee any meaningful opportunity to respond. The judgment draws attention to a procedurally critical issue: the placement of notices and orders in a non-standard portal location, which effectively rendered them invisible to the assessee through no fault of their own.

Background and Factual Matrix

T S Lines India Pvt. Ltd., a company registered under GST across multiple states in India, found itself on the receiving end of an ex parte order dated 13.06.2022 passed under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, along with a summary order of the same date bearing reference No. DC-E-602/LTU-01/Scrutiny/T. S. Lines/DRC-07/FY-2017-18/2022-23/B-204/Mumbai.

The sequence of events leading to the impugned order unfolded as follows:

  1. The assessee's GST returns for the relevant financial year were selected for scrutiny assessment by the concerned respondent authority.
  2. A scrutiny notice in Form GST ASMT-10 was issued on 04.09.2021.
  3. An intimation in Form DRC-01A was subsequently issued on 28.01.2022.
  4. A show cause notice in Form DRC-01, in accordance with Section 73 of the Act, was issued on 12.04.2022.
  5. Without granting the assessee any opportunity to respond to the show cause notice or to participate in a personal hearing, the adjudicating authority passed an order on 13.06.2022.

The crux of the grievance was not merely the ex parte nature of the order — it was the fact that this order was not made available in the "View Notices and Orders" section of the GST portal, which is the designated and officially documented location from which an assessee is expected to access all communication from tax authorities. Furthermore, no email communication was sent to the assessee regarding the passing of this order.

How the Assessee Discovered the Order

The assessee remained unaware of the existence of the order dated 13.06.2022 for a period of over seven months. It was only on 18.01.2023 that the assessee received a telephone call from the respondent authorities, directing it to pay the demand raised under the impugned order.

Upon making enquiries, the assessee was informed by the respondent's officers that the notices and orders had been uploaded not in the standard "View Notices and Orders" section but instead under a different section called "Additional Notices and Order" — an atypical location that the assessee would have had no reason to routinely monitor.