2025 (6) TMI 511 - HC - GST

Challenge to order as contained in Form GST DRC-07 and Form GST DRC-01 - quashing certain proceedings initiated subsequent to the inspection done made in the premises of the petitioner in his absence - HELD THAT - It is only stated by respondents that DRC-07 along with adjudication order has been passed/issued by following the provisions and procedures as enshrined in the JGST Act 2017 but nowhere it is stated that the said order has been uploaded on the portal and was available on the date of its passing on 14.03.2019. It is the duty of the respondents who have passed the order to upload it on the portal or communicate it to the petitioner otherwise on the petitioner s e-mail. In the light of the docket proceedings dated 14.03.2019 of the 4th respondent which indicates that DRC-07 was not uploaded on the very same day and in absence of any statement by the respondents as to when it was actually uploaded it has to be held that there has been violation of the principles of natural justice on account of non-supply of the said order. Petition allowed.

Summary

The Jharkhand High Court, presided by Chief Justice M. S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Rajesh Shankar, allowed the writ petition challenging the order in Form GST DRC-07 dated 14.03.2019 concerning the 2017-18 period and related proceedings initiated after an inspection on 01.12.2018 conducted in the petitioner's absence. The petitioner contended that no mandatory pre-show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01A under Section 73(1) of the Jharkhand Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 ("JGST Act, 2017") was issued before DRC-07, which was also issued with an invalid reference number and not uploaded timely on the portal. The Court emphasized that it is the duty of the respondents to communicate or upload the order promptly to the petitioner. The respondents failed to demonstrate when the order was uploaded, and the petitioner was denied access to the order, constituting a violation of the principles of natural justice due to non-supply of the order. Accordingly, the Court set aside the order in Form GST DRC-07 dated 14.03.2019 and remitted the matter to the 4th respondent to supply the order to the petitioner, provide a hearing, and thereafter pass an appropriate order in accordance with law and communicate the same to the petitioner.