2024 (7) TMI 915 - HC - GST

Challenge to assessment order - principal contention raised by the appellant was that the assessment order was communicated to the appellant through the portal that was notified by the Government for such purposes in accordance with Section 146 of the CGST Act, and hence he was not aware of the order since he had accessed the portal belatedly. HELD THAT - A reading of Section 169 of the Act makes it abundantly clear that any decision, order, summons, notice or other communication under the Act or Rules may be served on the assessee, inter alia, by making it available on the common portal. This statutory provision has to be read along with the provisions of Section 146, and when so read, it would mean that once a common portal is notified for the purposes of the Act, then any of the actions such as registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns, etc., as also the communication of notices, orders, etc., as provided for under the statute can be effected through the notified portal. Appeal dismissed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Challenge to assessment order communication through a government portal under CGST/SGST Acts.
2. Interpretation of Section 146 and Section 169 of the CGST Act.
3. Validity of using a common portal for communication of orders, notices, etc.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner challenged an assessment order communicated through a government portal under the CGST/SGST Acts. The petitioner argued that since the order was accessed belatedly through the portal, he was unaware of it and contended that the portal was not notified for uploading orders. The Single Judge found that the delay in accessing the order was due to the petitioner's own negligence and directed the petitioner to file an appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act. The Writ Petition was dismissed based on this finding.

2. The counsel for the petitioner argued that the notification of the portal under Section 146 was limited to specific functions like registration, tax payment, return filing, etc., and not for uploading orders. However, the Court disagreed, citing Section 169 which allows for serving decisions, orders, notices, etc., through the common portal. The Court held that once a common portal is notified for the Act's purposes, actions including communication of orders can be done through it. The Court referred to a notification amending the earlier one under Section 146, clarifying that the common portal can be used for all functions under the CGST Rules, with retrospective effect from 22.06.2017.

3. Despite the petitioner's arguments, the Court concluded that the statutory provisions of Section 169, read with Section 146, allowed for communication of orders through the common portal. The Court emphasized that the notification of the common portal could encompass all functions provided under the CGST Rules. As a result, the Court found no grounds to interfere with the Single Judge's judgment and dismissed the Writ Appeal accordingly.