It is to apprise you that recently
the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (‘HC’)
in the case of Akash Garg /
Shri Shyam Baba Edibal Oils v. CC, 2020-VIL-576-MP, has held that where a Show Cause Notice (‘SCN’)
is not uploaded on the Goods
and Services Tax (‘GST’) portal, merely e-mailing it to the taxpayer will not
make it a valid service of notice.
We respectfully disagree with the view HC has taken. In
this update, we have briefly explained how the decision has failed to
appreciate various provisions given under the Central Goods and Services Tax
Act, 2017 (‘CGST Act’).
HC’s DECISION
·
The HC held that a bare perusal of Rule 142 of the CGST Rules reveals that the only mode prescribed for communicating the SCN is
by way of uploading the same on the GST portal.
PROVISIONS NOT TOUCHED UPON
·
Section 73 or 74 of the CGST
Act only provides that a SCN is to be issued in certain circumstances. The
provisions do not refer the manner of service of SCN to the CGST Rules.
·
In fact, Section 169
specifically deals with modes of ‘Service of notice in certain circumstances’.
There are six modes of serving a notice and authorities have option to follow
any mode.
·
Clause (c) & (d) of Section
169 clearly provide that the communication of a SCN, inter alia, can be made by
an e-mail provided at the time of GST registration or by uploading the same on
the portal respectively.
TAKE
AWAY
·
In our view, respectfully, the
decision of the HC does not lay a correct position in law. The officer had duly
followed Section 169(c) to serve SCN on the taxpayer on the e-mail.
·
Keeping Section 169 in mind,
Rule 142 should be read, inter alia,
as a mechanism or manner as to how a SCN or order is to be uploaded
on the portal, if it is to be so uploaded. The Rule should not be read as to provide a mode of serving a
SCN, reading otherwise would make it contrary to Section 169.
·
It is, therefore, suggested
that the taxpayers should strictly follow the service of notice on e-mails as well.
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