Uttarakhand HC Invalidates GST Adjudication Order Over Portal-Only Notice to Assessee with Cancelled Registration

The digital infrastructure of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime was designed to streamline communication between the revenue authorities and the assessee. However, a recurring legal friction point emerges when statutory notices are uploaded solely on the GST common portal for an assessee whose registration has already been cancelled. The fundamental legal question is whether an individual or entity is legally obligated to continuously monitor a digital portal long after their official registration has been revoked.

This exact controversy was recently addressed by the Uttarakhand High Court in the matter of Gajendra Singh Cont. Vs Assistant Commissioner And Another. The Court delivered a decisive ruling emphasizing that uploading a notice on the GST portal does not constitute sufficient service if the assessee's registration is no longer active. Furthermore, the Court strongly reinforced the mandatory nature of personal hearings under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 before any adverse adjudication order is finalized.

The Factual Matrix of the Dispute

The legal proceedings in this matter were initiated through Writ Petition (M/B) No. 647 of 2026 before the Uttarakhand High Court. The core of the dispute revolved around procedural lapses by the revenue department during the adjudication of tax liabilities.

Timeline of Events

The sequence of events leading to the judicial intervention highlights a significant communication gap between the tax authorities and the assessee:

  • 20.02.2020: The GST registration of the assessee's firm was officially cancelled. From this date forward, the firm ceased to operate as a registered entity under the GST framework.
  • 25.04.2024: Over four years after the cancellation, the revenue department issued a show cause notice under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. This notice, bearing Reference No. ZD050424015390X, was uploaded to the GST portal.
  • 28.08.2024: An ex-parte adjudication order was passed against the assessee, confirming the tax demands outlined in the show cause notice.

The assessee approached the High Court seeking a writ of certiorari to quash both the show cause notice dated 25.04.2024 and the subsequent adjudication order dated 28.08.2024. The primary contention was that the proceedings were fundamentally flawed due to a lack of proper service of notice and the complete denial of an opportunity for a personal hearing.

The legal strategy employed by the counsel for the assessee hinged on two fundamental pillars of administrative law and statutory interpretation: the validity of service of notice and the principles of natural justice.

The Unreasonableness of Portal-Only Service Post-Cancellation

The foremost argument presented was that once a GST registration is cancelled, the legal and practical expectation for an assessee to log into the GST portal vanishes. The assessee's registration was cancelled on 20.02.2020. Therefore, when the department issued the show cause notice on 25.04.2024, exclusively routing it through the portal was practically ineffective.