Section 73 order quashed; portal-only notice invalid post cancellation of GST registration

Case: M/s Service Company India v. The Union of India & 3 Others

Citation: Writ Tax No. 3926 of 2025

Court/Authority: Allahabad High Court

Coram: Hon’ble Shekhar B. Saraf, J. & Hon’ble Praveen Kumar Giri, J.

Date of Decision: 26-08-2025

Whether a show cause notice under Section 73 served only through the GST portal is valid after cancellation of GST registration; and whether the consequential adjudication can stand.

• Registration under the GST Act was suspended on 08-05-2024; no business was carried out thereafter.
• A show cause notice under Section 73 was uploaded only on the GST portal; no alternative mode of service was effected.
• An order under Section 73 was passed on 25-08-2024 against the petitioner.
• Petitioner relied on the coordinate Bench decision in M/s Katyal Industries v. State of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2024:AHC:23697-DB).

It was held that after cancellation of registration, an assessee is not obliged to monitor the GST portal for notices. Foundational show cause notice must be served through appropriate alternative means. As service in the present case was confined to the portal, there was a violation of natural justice. The impugned order dated 25-08-2024 passed by respondent No. 4 was quashed, with liberty to the department to issue a proper notice and proceed in accordance with law.

Portal-only intimation is insufficient post cancellation of GST registration; valid service of foundational notices through recognised alternative modes is necessary to satisfy principles of natural justice.

Upon suspension or cancellation of registration, communicate updated postal and email coordinates to the jurisdictional officer and insist on service by recognised modes. Where demands are based on portal-only notices, promptly contest service and seek copies of all relied-upon documents. Maintain a contemporaneous paper trail of communications to support any writ challenge.