Goods and Services Tax

GST notice visibility after portal upgrade upheld; writ not entertained, but conditional reconsideration allowed on deposit and reply.
Case-Laws
GST
The HC refused to quash an ex parte GST adjudication order where the assessee had neither replied to the show cause notice nor filed a statutory appeal within limitation. It accepted that, after the portal upgrade on 16.01.2024, notices uploaded under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab were visible, so earlier decisions on non-visibility were inapplicable. The writ petition was therefore not entertained on the alleged notice defect, the Section 107 appellate remedy being the ordinary course. However, because the appeal period had expired during pendency of the writ, the Court granted a conditional opportunity to file a reply and seek reconsideration upon deposit of 50% of the tax and penalty, excluding interest.
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Efficacious appellate remedy bars writ review in GST demand disputes where factual issues require statutory appeal.
Case-Laws
GST
Existence of an efficacious statutory appeal under the CGST Act justified refusal of writ jurisdiction against GST adjudication orders passed by municipal bodies. The Court found that the challenge was not a case of lack of jurisdiction, because the alleged GST immunity depended on examination of the underlying transactions and the adjudicating authority had already undertaken that factual exercise. As no exceptional circumstance, including a vires challenge, was shown, the petitioners were relegated to the appellate remedy. Appeals filed within the time granted and with statutory compliances were to be heard on merits without objection on limitation, and all substantive contentions were left open.
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Personal hearing and statutory appeal under GST: writ challenge failed where no reply was filed and no hearing was sought.
Case-Laws
GST
Under Section 75(4), a personal hearing is required on demand; because the taxpayer did not file a reply to the show-cause notice and never sought a hearing, the HC held there was no breach of natural justice. The Court also held that the summary GST demand order issued in DRC-07 under Section 73 was appealable under the statute, so objections on merits or technical grounds should have been raised before the appellate authority. Having failed to participate in the proceedings and let the appeal period lapse, the taxpayer could not invoke writ jurisdiction. The writ petition was dismissed.
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Composite GST assessment for multiple years is impermissible; year-wise proceedings required and fresh action permitted with limitation exclusion.
Case-Laws
GST
Assessment proceedings under the GST enactments must be confined to the relevant tax period, and a single composite show cause notice or composite assessment order for multiple assessment years is impermissible. Following prior High Court authority, the court held that the impugned DRC-01 notice and assessment order, both framed on a combined basis, were unsustainable; separate issuance of DRC-07 did not cure the defect. The composite assessment order was set aside, and the respondents were given liberty to initiate fresh year-wise proceedings. The period from the impugned order until receipt of the court's order was directed to be excluded for limitation purposes.
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Refund of appellate pre-deposit must follow Rule 89, not Section 54, and cannot be withheld on a non-existent investigation.
Case-Laws
GST
Refund of a statutory pre-deposit made for filing an appeal under Section 107(6) was held not to be governed by Section 54, because such deposit does not assume the character of tax and falls within “any other amount” under Rule 89. The Court, following State of Jharkhand v. M/s. BLA Infrastructure Private Limited, found that reliance on Section 54, a restrictive reading of Rule 89, and Section 56 to deny refund was misplaced, and the claim could not be rejected as time-barred or otherwise non-maintainable on that basis. It also held that withholding refund on the basis of a supposed pending SFIO investigation was unsustainable once it was shown that no investigation was pending.
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Natural justice in ex parte adjudication requires proved service of hearing notices before an appellate order can stand.
Case-Laws
GST
Failure to establish service of hearing notices before ex parte appellate adjudication amounted to a violation of natural justice. The Court accepted that the assessee had been deprived of an effective opportunity of hearing because the record did not clearly show service of the relevant intimations, and some documents were not traceable. On that procedural defect alone, without examining the tax dispute on merits, the impugned appellate order was set aside and the appeal was restored for fresh adjudication after granting due opportunity of hearing.
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Personal hearing under Section 75(4) is mandatory before adverse adjudication; absence of hearing vitiates the order.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 75(4) requires a personal hearing before an adverse adjudication order is passed, and that statutory obligation is not displaced merely because no written reply was filed. The Court found that the show cause notice and reminder marked personal hearing as not applicable, so no hearing was actually granted. It held that denial of hearing violated both the statutory mandate and natural justice, rendering the adjudication/assessment order vitiated. The order was set aside, with liberty to proceed afresh in accordance with law, including compliance with Section 75(4).
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Electronic Credit Ledger blocking under Rule 86A(3) lapses automatically after one year, requiring immediate unblocking.
Case-Laws
GST
Rule 86A(3) limits blocking of the Electronic Credit Ledger to one year from the date of imposition, and any continuance beyond that period is contrary to the rule. Where the ledger blocking had continued after expiry of twelve months, the restriction was treated as having automatically ceased to operate. The Court declared the continued blocking illegal and directed the authorities to unblock the Electronic Credit Ledger forthwith.
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Natural justice breached by non-service of notice, leading to quashing of assessment and recovery proceedings.
Case-Laws
GST
Assessment and recovery proceedings were held invalid because service of notice was not proved and the assessee was denied an effective opportunity of hearing, amounting to breach of natural justice. The Court found that the postal notice was returned unserved and the alleged e-mail did not establish effective service, so no notice was served before or after the assessment order. The impugned assessment order and consequential recovery proceedings were therefore quashed, and the matter was remanded to the assessing authority for fresh assessment after due notice and opportunity to respond, with exclusion of the intervening period for limitation.
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WPI inflation rises to 38-month high of 3.88 pc in March on higher fuel prices amid West Asia crisis
GST
Dated:- 15-4-2026
PTI
New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Wholesale price inflation rose sharply to an over 3-year high of 3.88 per cent in March, driven by a sharp spike in rates of fuel, power and manufactured items amid the West Asia crisis.

Government data released on Wednesday showed that the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rose for the fifth straight month in March as core inflation accelerated, amid softening of primary food items. As higher energy prices eventually generalise to other commodity prices, we expect WPI inflation to rise further in the coming months.

The high WPI inflation in March reflects elevat

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e previous month.

Manufactured products inflation rose to 3.39 per cent in March, from 2.92 per cent in February.

Barclays, in a research note, said that March WPI is the sharpest month-on-month increase seen since August 2023.

“As global energy prices stay elevated and eventually trickle to other commodity prices, we expect WPI inflation to rise further going ahead,” Barclays said, adding that it expects RBI to persist with a pause in interest rates through 2026.

During March, the pace of hike in food articles prices, however, eased to 1.90 per cent, from 2.19 per cent in February.

In vegetables, inflation softened to 1.45 per cent in March, against 4.73 per cent in February.

WPI inflation in FY26 averaged at 0.7 pe

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l to ensure that fuel retailers do not pass on the higher crude oil price to consumers.

The excise duty cut decision was taken in response to the steep and rapid rise in international crude oil prices, which had surged from approximately USD 70 per barrel to around USD 122 per barrel over the month — an increase of nearly 75 per cent in under four weeks, driven by the ongoing conflict in West Asia and associated disruptions to global energy supply chains.

Consumer price index-based retail inflation rose 3.4 per cent in March compared to 3.21 per cent in the preceding month, mainly due to an uptick in certain food items, data released earlier this week showed.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its first bi-monthly monetary pol

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Wholesale price inflation rises 3.88 pc in March on surge in crude rates
GST
Dated:- 15-4-2026
PTI
New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Wholesale price inflation rose for the fifth straight month, at 3.88 per cent in March, driven by a sharp spike in rates of fuel, power and manufactured items amid the West Asia crisis, government data showed on Wednesday.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was 2.13 per cent in the previous month and 2.25 per cent in March last year.

“Positive rate of inflation in March 2026 is primarily due to increase in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas, other manufacturing, non-food articles, manufacture of basic metals and food articles, etc.,” the industry ministry said in a statement.

Accord

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ent since the crisis began on February 28.

The government, on March 26, reduced excise duty by Rs 10 per litre on both petrol and diesel to ensure that fuel retailers do not pass the higher crude oil price to consumers.

The excise duty cut decision was taken in response to the steep and rapid rise in international crude oil prices, which had surged from approximately USD 70 per barrel to around USD 122 per barrel over the month — an increase of nearly 75 per cent in under four weeks, driven by the ongoing conflict in West Asia and associated disruptions to global energy supply chains.

Consumer price index-based retail inflation rose 3.4 per cent in March compared to 3.21 per cent in the preceding month, mainly due to an uptick

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GSTAT Agra Bench begins functioning for appeals across 15 Uttar Pradesh districts under the prescribed procedure rules.
Circulars
GST – States
The GST Appellate Tribunal's Agra Bench is operating from its temporary address in Sikandara, Agra, and will shortly shift to its permanent premises at Cross Road Mall, Agra. Its notified jurisdiction covers 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh, and it is presently receiving and hearing appeals under section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017 and other relevant provisions of the CGST and Uttar Pradesh GST Acts. All filings must comply with the GSTAT (Procedure) Rules, 2025, and e-filing guidance, notices and support are available on the GSTAT portal.
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Writ jurisdiction and alternate remedy rule: challenge to a CGST section 74 order was rejected in favour of statutory appeal.
Case-Laws
GST
Writ jurisdiction under Article 226 was declined against a show cause notice and consequential order under section 74 of the CGST Act because an efficacious statutory appeal was available under section 107 read with Rule 109A. The Court held that challenges requiring examination of the corrigendum, the underlying material, and the nature of the correction involved factual appreciation and therefore did not fall within the limited certiorari jurisdiction. Mere disagreement with the adjudicating authority's conclusions was insufficient to bypass the appellate remedy. The Court also noted that recognised exceptional grounds such as breach of fundamental rights, natural justice violations, excess of jurisdiction, or challenge to vires were not made out on the material before it, and it expressed no opinion on the merits.
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Regular bail in CGST input tax credit fraud was granted where custodial interrogation was unnecessary and evidence was documentary.
Case-Laws
GST
Regular bail was granted in an economic offence involving alleged fraudulent availment of input tax credit under the CGST Act because the prosecution's case rested mainly on documentary material already in its possession. The investigation was found to be substantially complete, and no further custodial interrogation was shown to be necessary. The court also noted that the alleged offence carried a maximum punishment of five years, was compoundable, and that no specific risk of tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses was demonstrated, especially where the evidence was largely documentary. Bail was therefore allowed on bond and surety terms.
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Mandatory hearing requirement under GST law leads to setting aside adverse assessment and fresh decision after personal hearing
Case-Laws
GST
Under Section 75(4), an adverse determination could not be made without affording the taxpayer a hearing, and the obligation remained even if the response to the show cause notice was filed late. The High Court found that no personal hearing had been given and the alleged communication relied on by the State was not available on the portal, so the assessment order under Section 73(9) suffered from breach of the mandatory hearing requirement. The order was set aside, and the officer was directed to restore limited portal access, accept the response, and decide the matter afresh after granting hearing in accordance with law.
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Input tax credit mismatch on imported goods requires reconsideration where the authority ignores the taxpayer's explanation.
Case-Laws
GST
Non-application of mind was found where the authority referred to the taxpayer's reply but did not meaningfully consider the specific explanation for reversal of part of the input tax credit on imported goods. The mismatch between the address in the bills of entry and the additional place of business on the portal also required reconsideration in light of the pleaded explanation that the business premises had shifted and the corresponding importer-exporter record amendment was made later. On that limited issue, the adjudication order was set aside and the matter remitted for fresh consideration, with consequential interest and penalty also falling with that limited relief and all contentions kept open.
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Temporary identification number and separate GST notices required to preserve independent appellate remedies for company and Managing Director.
Case-Laws
GST
A temporary identification number may be granted to an unregistered Managing Director under Rule 16A, enabling independent use of appellate remedies where a composite GST summary order and a single Form GST DRC-07 fasten liability on both the company and the Managing Director. Fresh separate Form GST DRC-07 notices must be issued for each, so that each recipient can pursue an appeal on facts and law independently. Limitation for filing appeal runs only from issuance of the fresh DRC-07. The merits of the underlying tax liability were not examined.
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Right to inspection of relied upon documents upheld for effective reply to a show cause notice.
Case-Laws
GST
Where a show cause notice under Section 74(1) is founded on documents from an earlier search and seizure, the noticee must be given effective access to the relied upon material to answer it. The Court held that the petitioners were entitled to inspection and/or extracts of all relied upon records, and that specific accounting data such as excel or tally files had to be supplied where relied upon and specifically requested. It limited the ruling to this procedural access issue, directed disclosure within the time fixed, allowed time to reply and a personal hearing, extended the adjudication period, and left all other challenges open.
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Pending rectification must be decided before dismissing a statutory appeal; appellate order set aside and fresh hearing directed.
Case-Laws
GST
A pending rectification application must be decided before a statutory appeal is dismissed, where the rectification could affect the adjudication order under challenge. The High Court held that the appellate authority should not have rejected the appeal while rectification proceedings were still pending, and the appellate order was therefore unsustainable. It set aside the dismissal of the appeal and directed that the rectification application be decided first, after affording personal hearing and by a reasoned order, within the time fixed by the Court.
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GST recovery attachment vacated, with payment to supplier restrained pending resolution of collateral disputes.
Case-Laws
GST
Bank account attachment under a GST recovery notice was vacated where the petitioner had received the supplies and had already reversed the input tax credit during departmental proceedings that were later dropped. The Court balanced the petitioner's position against the supplier's possible entitlement to payment, noting that that entitlement had to be worked out separately in collateral proceedings. The attachment was therefore released, but the petitioner was restrained from making any direct or indirect payment to the supplier unless appropriate orders were obtained in those separate proceedings.
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Voluntary ITC reversal and Section 74(5) closure failed where the declaration was made during inspection in officers' presence.
Case-Laws
GST
The HC held that reversal of input tax credit during an ongoing inspection, in the presence of officers, supported the finding that the declaration under Section 74(5) was not voluntary; the subsequent payment of interest and penalty and request for closure were treated as consequential. It noted that a bare allegation of coercion needs supporting circumstances, but on these facts the inspection context made the involuntariness credible, so that finding was sustained. As the closure under Sections 74(5) and 74(6) was invalid, the proceedings were restored to the pre-closure stage, with liberty to proceed under Sections 73 or 74 and exclusion of the intervening period from limitation.
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Mandatory personal hearing under GST law cannot be waived by form selection; adverse order quashed for breach of natural justice.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 75(4) of the GST Act was treated as a mandatory requirement for granting personal hearing before passing an adverse order, and the taxpayer's selection of “No” in the reply form did not override that statutory obligation. The adverse order was therefore unsustainable for breach of audi alteram partem and natural justice. The order was quashed and the matter remanded for fresh adjudication after affording a hearing within the time fixed by the Court.
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Documentary GST prosecution supports regular bail where further custodial interrogation is not required
Case-Laws
GST
Regular bail was granted in a GST prosecution concerning alleged wrongful availment of input tax credit through bogus invoices under Sections 132(1)(c) and (f), because the allegations were substantially supported by documentary material. The Court noted that relevant documents had been seized, statements had been recorded, and the investigation was largely complete, while the applicant had remained in custody since 16/01/2026. As no further custodial interrogation appeared necessary, bail was allowed on personal bond and surety, and the order was directed to continue until disposal of the case.
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Delay and laches defeat writ challenge to assessment order where statutory notices were ignored and supplier certificates were raised belatedly.
Case-Laws
GST
Delay and laches barred interference under Article 226 where the petitioner failed to respond properly to the discrepancy notice and show cause notice, did not furnish invoice details before the statutory authority, and raised supplier certificates only belatedly despite their earlier availability. The High Court found no justifiable basis to reopen an assessment that had already attained finality, particularly in view of the prolonged delay and the petitioner's negligence in the statutory proceedings. The writ petition was dismissed and the assessment order left undisturbed.
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Common portal service of GST orders upheld; delayed writ challenge refused, with statutory appeal left open subject to limitation.
Case-Laws
GST
Service of GST orders through the common portal is legally valid under Sections 169 and 146 of the CGST Act, and a belated writ challenge based on alleged non-communication cannot be entertained nearly three years later. The High Court upheld dismissal of the writ petition on delay and laches, noting that the appellant had an available statutory appellate remedy. It further held that any such remedy must be pursued in accordance with the statutory scheme, including limitation, and no separate protective order was warranted. The appellant was left free to seek the statutory remedy subject to law.
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