Dept Cannot Be Blamed If Assessee Is Not Diligent In Checking GST Portal For Show Cause Notice: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that an assessee cannot claim he was not granted an opportunity of hearing before an adverse order is passed, if he fails to check the GST portal for show cause notice and respond to the same.

A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed,

“Since the Petitioner has not been diligent in checking the portal, no reply to the Show Cause Notice has been filed by the Petitioner. Thus the department cannot be blamed.”

The remarks were made while hearing a petition filed by the proprietor of a firm engaged in trading and manufacturing of plastic components, assailing the order raising demand to the tune of ₹9,21,326/- on the ground that the same was passed without hearing him or serving the SCN.

The case of the Petitioner was that SCN was issued in the 'additional notices and orders' tab of the GST portal, instead of the 'notices and orders' tab and thus is not a proper mode of service.

Also Read: SCN Uploaded On 'Additional Notices' Tab Of GST Portal Not Proper: Delhi High Court

The Department on the other hand claimed that a reminder notice was issued to the Petitioner, even then no reply was filed. It added that automated e-mails and SMSs are also sent whenever anything is uploaded on the portal.

This prompted the Court to remark that the Department cannot be held accountable for assessee's failure to diligently check the portal.

It also refused to interfere with the demand but permitted the Petitioner to file an appeal against the impugned order before the Appellate Authority, along with the pre-deposit.

Appearance: Mr. Rajeev Aggarwal and Mr. Shubham Goel, Advocates for Petitioner; Ms. Vaishali Gupta, Panel Counsel (Civil) GNCTD.

Case title: Sandeep Garg v. Sales Tax Officer Class II Avato Ward 66 Zone 4 Delhi

Case no.: W.P.(C) 5846/2025