📰 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗵𝗿𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀

📢 The court held, “A Show Cause Notice must specify the issuing authority for the Registered Person to respond adequately.”

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: • 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Arhaan Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Solutions Pvt. Ltd. vs The Superintendent, The Principal Commissioner of Central Tax, The Union of India • 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: Writ Petition No. 16097 of 2023 • 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁: Andhra Pradesh High Court • 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 12-Jul-2023

𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲: The petitioner, Arhaan Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Solutions Pvt. Ltd., challenged a cryptic Show Cause Notice (SCN) for GST registration cancellation, which failed to identify the issuing authority, leaving the petitioner unable to determine if it was from the CGST or Andhra Pradesh GST Authority. The SCN vaguely cited “non-compliance with specified provisions in the GST Act or Rules” as the reason without further details.

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: • 20-Jun-2023: An ambiguous SCN was issued, lacking details of the issuing authority, under Rules 22(1) and 21(2A) of the GST Act. • Response: The petitioner voiced objections, calling the notice vague, but submitted an explanation on the same day.

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The petitioner approached the High Court, where Senior Standing Counsel for CBIC clarified that the SCN did not originate from the office of any central authority. The High Court quashed the SCN due to its lack of clarity and restored the petitioner’s GST registration immediately.

⚖ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The court emphasized that a valid SCN requires the identification of the issuing authority, enabling the recipient to properly address the allegations. Failure to specify the authority renders the notice defective and unenforceable.

📜 This ruling reinforces the importance of transparent and detailed notices for fair procedural compliance under GST law. It ensures that registered persons can clearly understand and respond to administrative proceedings. Team GSTpanacea 7503031378