WP/43063/2026 of PON HARDWARES Vs State Tax Officer (ST) on 16 October 2026

ORDER

Mr.R.Sethu Prabakaran, learned Government Advocate (Tax) takes notice for the 1st Respondent.

2. With the consent of both sides, this Writ Petition is taken up for final disposal at the admission stage itself.

3. The Petitioner has filed this Writ Petition for the following reliefs:

(i) To call for the records relating to the Order in Form DRC-07 bearing reference No.ZD3312250240524 dated 02.12.2025 along with proceedings in GSTIN/33BQPS6100A2Z2/2021-22 dated 02.12.2025 issued by the 1st Respondent and quash the same;

(ii) To direct the Respondents 2 & 3 to lift the attachment made in the Petitioner’s Bank Accounts viz., A/c.No.1719135000000594 (in the name of the company) & A/c.No.1719172000001613 (in the name of the sole proprietor of the Petitioner company J.Saravanan) held with the 2nd Respondent Bank and A/c.No.378150050800527 held with the 3rd Respondent Bank and defreeze the said accounts; and

(iii) To direct the 1st Respondent to consider the matter afresh on merits, after providing an opportunity of personal hearing to the Petitioner within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.

4. The brief facts of the case are that upon scrutinizing the returns filed by the Petitioner for the Financial Year 2021-22, various discrepancies were noticed by the Officials. Hence, the 1st Respondent had issued the Show Cause Notice in Form GST DRC-01 dated 23.09.2025, calling upon the Petitioner to file its reply by 23.10.2025 and thereafter, issued three Reminder Notices dated 29.10.2025, 07.11.2025 & 23.11.2025, calling upon the Petitioner to appear for personal hearing on 05.11.2025, 14.11.2025 & 28.11.2025 and submit its reply. However, the Petitioner neither filed any Reply/Objection to the Show Cause Notice nor appeared for personal hearing. Therefore, the 1st Respondent has passed the Assessment Order dated 02.12.2025 along with Summary of the Order in Form GST DRC-07, confirming the tax and penalty proposed in the Show Cause Notice and directing the Petitioner to pay a sum of Rs.21,82,090/-. That apart, the 1st Respondent has initiated the recovery proceedings by attaching the Petitioner's Bank Accounts viz., A/c.No.1719135000000594 (in the name of the company) & A/c.No.1719172000001613 (in the name of the sole proprietor of the Petitioner company J.Saravanan) with the 2nd Respondent Bank and A/c.No.378150050800527 with the 3rd Respondent Bank under Section 79 of the TNGST & CGST Act, 2017. Hence, the Petitioner has filed this Writ Petition for the reliefs stated supra.

5. The learned counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the Show Cause Notice, Reminder Notices and the impugned Assessment Order were merely uploaded in “View Additional Notices and Orders” tab on the Online GST Portal and the same were not served to the Petitioner through physical mode. Since the Petitioner was unaware of the Show Cause Notice as well as the impugned Assessment Order which were uploaded on the Online GST Portal, the Petitioner could not file any reply to the Show Cause Notice and prefer an appeal against the impugned Assessment Order in time.

5.1. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the Petitioner that the Assessment Order passed by the 1st Respondent is an ex-parte order since prior to passing the Assessment Order, the Petitioner was not heard by the 1st Respondent. Therefore, the learned counsel submitted that the impugned Assessment Order suffers from a violation of the principles of natural justice.

5.2. The learned counsel for the Petitioner submitted that in this case, the entire disputed tax amount is Rs.11,67,830/-, pursuant to the Assessment Order, the 1st Respondent has recovered Rs.10,14,260/- from the Petitioner. The learned counsel has also produced a proof to that effect, before this Court. Therefore, the learned counsel prayed that the impugned Assessment Order may be quashed and the case may be remanded back to the 1st Respondent for fresh consideration.

6. The learned Government Advocate (Tax) appearing for the 1st Respondent fairly submitted that since more than 85% of the disputed tax amount has been recovered from the Petitioner, the prayer sought in this Writ Petition may be considered.

7. Heard the learned counsel for the Petitioner as well as the learned Government Advocate (Tax) for the 1st Respondent and perused the materials available on record.

8. According to the Petitioner, the Show Cause Notice, Reminder Notices and the impugned Assessment Order were merely uploaded in “View Additional Notices and Orders” tab on the Online GST Portal and were not served to the Petitioner through physical mode. Consequently, the Petitioner was unable to file any Reply/Objection to the Show Cause Notice, attend the personal hearing and prefer an Appeal against the impugned Assessment Order in time. Furthermore, the 1st Respondent passed the Assessment Order without even affording an opportunity of hearing to the Petitioner,

9. No doubt, sending notice by uploading in Online GST Portal is a sufficient service, but, the Officer who is sending the repeated reminders, despite of the fact that there is no response from the Petitioner to the show cause notices etc., the Officer should have applied his/her mind and explored the possibility of sending notices by way of other modes prescribed in Section 169 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (for brevity, “CGST Act”) which are also the valid mode of service under the CGST Act, otherwise, the service of notice will not be deemed to be an effective service, rather, it would only amount to fulfilling the empty formalities.

10. Merely passing an ex-parte order by fulfilling the empty formalities will not serve any useful purpose and the same will only pave the way for a multiplicity of litigations, not only wasting the time of the Officer concerned, but also the precious time of the Appellate Authority/Tribunal and this Court as well. Thus, when there is no response from the taxpayer to the notice sent through a particular mode, the Officer who is issuing the notices should strictly explore the possibilities of sending notices through some other mode as prescribed in Section 169(1) of the CGST Act, preferably by way of RPAD which would ultimately achieve the object of the CGST Act. Therefore, this Court is of the opinion that there has been a lack of effort in applying the available opportunities to serve notices/orders etc., effectively on the Petitioner and the impugned Assessment Order suffers from a violation of the principles of natural justice.

11. Considering the fact that out of the entire disputed tax amount of Rs.11,67,830/-, the 1st Respondent had already recovered a sum of Rs.10,14,260/- from the Petitioner, this Court is inclined to issue the following directions:

(i) The impugned Assessment Order dated 02.12.2025 passed by the 1st Respondent is quashed.

(ii) Consequently, the case is remanded back to the 1st Respondent for fresh consideration.

(iii) The Petitioner is directed to file its Reply/Objection along with the required documents, if any before the 1st Respondent, within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

(iv) On filing of such Reply/Objection by the Petitioner, the 1st Respondent shall consider the same and issue a 14 days clear notice affording an opportunity of personal hearing to the Petitioner. Thereafter, the 1st Respondent shall pass appropriate orders on merits and in accordance with law, as expeditiously as possible.

(v) So far as the attachment made in Petitioner's Bank Accounts is concerned, it is needless to state that once the impugned Assessment Order is quashed, the order of attachment cannot survive any longer. Thus, the concerned Banks i.e., the Respondents 2 & 3 are directed to de-freeze the Petitioner’s Bank Accounts forthwith, upon production of copy of order of this Court.

12. This Writ Petition is disposed of with the above directions. No costs. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petitions are closed. 16-10-2026 mrr Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-Speaking Order Neutral Citation: Yes/No

To

1. State Tax Officer (ST), Avadi Assessment Circle, Survey No.1275/3, Integrated Commercial Taxes Building, Tiruvallur Division, First Floor, Elephant Gate Bridge Road, Vepery, Chennai – 600 003.

2. The Branch Manager, Karur Vysya Bank, Avadi Branch, Plot No.6, PC.2/3, 60 Feet Road, TNHB, Avadi, Chennai – 600 054.

3. The Branch Manager, Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank, Avadi Branch, (IFSC Code: TMBL0000378), 7, GD Nagar, Complex, 60 Feet Road, TNHB, Avadi, Chennai.

KRISHNAN RAMASAMY, J. mrr W.P.No.43063 of 2026 16-10-2026