Allahabad High Court Says GSTN Portal Should Allow Online Filing Of Additional Replies To Show Cause Notices

The Allahabad High Court has recently observed that the GSTN portal should be refined to allow the filing of additional or supplementary replies online. It also directed that a copy of its order be communicated to GSTN for consideration and compliance. The court noted that notices, replies, and orders are otherwise exchanged through the portal.

While dealing with the rejection of Tejashva Tractors And Motors' refund application, the bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Vivek Saran suggested:

“Once such online mode is described as the preferred mode of communication between the revenue authorities/noticee/tax-payers, it would be wholly in the fitness of things that the GSTN Portal may be worked to accommodate filing of additional/supplementary replies also through online mode.”

The petitioner challenged an order rejecting its refund application. It contended that although it had filed a reply to the show cause notice, it was prevented from filing an additional reply through the GST Portal.

Counsel for GSTN submitted, on the basis of written instructions, that the Common Portal presently allows only one reply to a show cause notice through online mode. It was clarified that any further reply could be filed offline during the course of personal hearing.

The Court noted that the show cause notice had been issued through the portal. The petitioner's reply had also been filed through the portal. The impugned order was likewise issued through the same online mode.

In such circumstances, the Court found it difficult to accept the hybrid system suggested by GSTN as the most desirable course. It held that proceedings under the GST law are conducted primarily through the online portal. Therefore, a mechanism should exist to permit the filing of supplementary or additional replies through the same mode.

The Court further observed that the issuance of notices and orders through the portal creates prima facie evidence of those documents having been issued. Filing of replies through the portal similarly creates prima facie evidence of their filing.

"We understand the difficulty in making an open provision to file additional replies. If no check is placed on the additional replies to be filed as may allow an assessee to file reply at any time, that itself may create other hindrances in the processing of replies and the conduct of the proceedings in which such replies are required or called. Therefore, wherever a noticee may wish to file an additional reply after having filed the first reply, the GSTN Portal may be refined to provide for a request button that may enable the noticee to make a request to the issuing authority to be permitted to file additional/supplementary reply.”, the court noted.

“Making of such request may be accompanied with generation of an appropriate acknowledgement as may allow for evidence to arise of that request made, together with a date and time stamp as is being done, in other cases.”, it added.

The court observed that such a request must first be accepted by the issuing authority. Only thereafter may the noticee be enabled to file an additional or supplementary reply through online mode. The court added that such a request should be permitted only until the next date fixed in the proceedings.

The court noted that implementation of such a mechanism may take time. It also noted that the petitioner had raised a grievance ticket after being unable to upload a further reply. In these circumstances, the court held that there was no reason to doubt that the petitioner had attempted to file an additional or supplementary reply.

The court therefore set aside the impugned order. It remitted the matter to the adjudicating authority for a fresh decision.