Gujarat High Court Seeks Report After Tax Portal Issues Three Hearing Notices To Same Taxpayer Within Two Minutes

The Gujarat High Court has directed the Chief Commissioner of State Tax to explain how the department's portal allowed an officer to issue three personal hearing notices on the same day. Each notice fixed a different date and time for the hearing.

The court warned that failure to file the report by the next hearing would invite strictures against the authorities. The notices were digitally signed within an interval of one minute and 40 seconds.

“In view of the aforesaid facts, we direct the Chief Commissioner of State Tax, being the highest authority to file a report on the functioning of the portal and the process of allowing the competent officer to generate notices on the same date by intimating three different dates of personal hearings to the petitioner,” a division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati ruled.

The court added, "Such report shall be filed by the next date of hearing, failing which, the Court would be constrained to pass strictures against the authorities, who has manipulated the system by generating three notices in an interval of almost two minutes intimating the petitioner three different personal hearing dates and with different times."

The court was hearing a petition filed by Mustufamiya Hussainmiya Shaikh, proprietor of Mustufa Sales Agency, challenging proceedings involving the Gujarat tax authorities.

During the hearing, Assistant Government Pleader Raj Tanna produced three personal hearing notices issued by the appellate authority. All three were dated April 16, 2026, but bore different notice numbers and specified different hearing schedules.

The first notice fixed the hearing for April 18 at 12.18 pm. The second scheduled it for April 21 at 1.17 pm, while the third fixed it for April 24 at 12.18 pm.

The notices were digitally signed on April 16 at 4.17.49 pm, 4.18.42 pm and 4.19.29 pm, respectively. The first and third notices were signed within one minute and 40 seconds of each other.

The court expressed shock at the portal's functioning. It observed that the system had a serious lacuna that could allow an authority to manipulate the hearing process.

“We are shocked and appalled to notice that the system permits issuing three notices on the same date having three different numbers and intimating three different dates and time for personal hearing to the petitioner. It is a very serious lacuna which would permit the concerned authority to manipulate the system by generating three notices on the same date, digitally singed within an interval of approximately two minutes.,” the bench observed.

The court directed the Chief Commissioner to explain how the portal allowed the three notices to be generated. It clarified that exemplary costs would be imposed on the erring officer if the explanation was found unsatisfactory.

The bench also directed the appellate authority to pass a fresh appellate order and place it before the court on the next hearing date. The Registry was directed to communicate the order to all three respondents.

The matter will be heard on October 26, 2026, at the top of the board.

For Petitioner: Hiren J. Trivedi, Advocate

For Respondents: Raj Tanna, Assistant Government Pleader