Authority: Calcutta High Court, Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri

Order Date: 07 July 2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: Ashok Parakh, M/s Ganapati Exports (petitioner) vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors. (respondents).
  • Proceedings: The petitioner challenged an ex‑parte adjudication order dated 17 August 2024 issued under Section 73 of the West Bengal GST Act, 2017 by the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Raiganj Zone, and the subsequent appellate order dated 16 September 2025 issued under Section 107 of the same Act.
  • Allegations: The petitioner contended that the pre‑show‑cause, show‑cause notices and the adjudication order were uploaded only under the “Additional Notices/Orders” tab on the GST Web Portal, whereas the GST website manual and FAQs require such documents to appear under the “Notices/Orders” tab. The petitioner regularly checked the “Notices/Orders” tab and therefore did not become aware of the ex‑parte order until 12 August 2025.
  • Petitioner’s Action: Upon discovering the order, the petitioner filed an appeal on 12 August 2025, paying 10 % of the disputed tax amounting to Rs 2,52,090. The appellate authority rejected the appeal on 16 September 2025.
  • Revenue’s Position: The revenue argued that the GST Network (GSTN) provides separate interfaces for taxpayers and tax officers; the officer’s dashboard contains “Notices” and “Orders” tabs, while the taxpayer’s portal displayed the documents under “Additional Notices/Orders”. The revenue admitted that the system placed the notices in the additional tab and that GSTN was aware of this technical glitch. The revenue further stated that the glitch was remedied by deleting the “Additional Notices/Orders” tab on 6 February 2026.
  • Court’s Observations: The Court noted that the petitioner acted in good faith, believing no notice or assessment order existed because the required tab did not display any document. The Court held that the petitioner cannot be held liable for the ex‑parte assessment dated 17 August 2024.

Final Outcome

  • The assessment order dated 17 August 2024 and the appellate order dated 16 September 2025 are set aside.
  • The revenue is permitted to issue a fresh notice for adjudication against the petitioner within one month from the date of this order.
  • The limitation period for the fresh assessment will commence from the date of the newly issued notice.
  • The matter is disposed of as WPA 2425 of 2025.
  • Certified copies of the order may be obtained from the website upon compliance with requisite formalities.

Topics: GST Litigation, Judicial Review