GST Registration Cancelled? Portal-Only Notices Cannot Be Valid Service — Courts Uphold Natural Justice

Introduction: A Fundamental Tension in GST Administration

When a GST registration stands cancelled, the assessee is effectively locked out of the common portal. Yet, in numerous cases, tax authorities have continued to serve show cause notices (SCNs), assessment orders, and other communications exclusively through that very portal — the one the assessee can no longer access. This practice raises a profound question of law and fairness: Can a notice served on a portal that the assessee cannot access be treated as valid service?

The answer emerging from Indian courts is increasingly clear — and it leans decisively in favour of the assessee.

This article examines the legal framework under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the scope and limitations of Section 169 as a mode of service, and a growing line of judicial precedents that have struck down ex parte orders issued without genuine efforts to ensure effective communication.

Section 169 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 prescribes the permissible modes through which any decision, order, summons, notice, or other communication may be served upon an assessee or any other person. These modes include:

  • Service by hand through a messenger or a tax authority officer
  • Registered post or speed post with acknowledgement due (RPAD) to the assessee's last known place of business or residence
  • Email to the address furnished at the time of registration
  • Upload on the common portal of the GST system
  • Publication in a newspaper circulated in the locality where the business is situated
  • Affixation at a conspicuous place of business or residence

The statute does not restrict the authorities to a single mode of service. Rather, it envisages a hierarchy of options precisely because not every mode will be equally effective in every situation.

The core legal issue arises when tax officers treat portal-based service as a universal solution — even in circumstances where such service is, for all practical purposes, meaningless.

Why Portal-Based Service Fails After Cancellation of GST Registration

Once GST registration is cancelled — whether voluntarily by the assessee or suo motu by the department — access to the common portal is extinguished or severely curtailed. The assessee can no longer log in, view correspondence, respond to notices, or track proceedings in the ordinary manner available to a registered person.

The consequences of this are significant:

  • Any notice uploaded on the portal goes unviewed by the assessee
  • The assessee has no way of knowing that proceedings have been initiated against them
  • The department, having proceeded ex parte, passes an assessment order without any participation from the assessee
  • The assessee discovers the demand — often with interest and penalty — only when recovery action is initiated