Facts of the Case:

In this case, the petitioner challenged the appellate order passed under Section 107, whereby the appeal preferred against the adjudication order dated 25 February 2023 was dismissed solely on the ground of delay. The petitioner contended that it could not file the appeal within the prescribed limitation period as it had never received the Show Cause Notice (SCN) nor the adjudication order from the adjudicating authority. It was submitted that both the SCN and the adjudication order were only uploaded on the GST portal under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab and were not served through any other recognized mode of service.

The petitioner relied upon the Division Bench judgment of the Calcutta High Court in Ram Kumar Sinhal v. State of West Bengal, wherein it was held that mere uploading of notice under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab does not constitute proper service in law. The petitioner referred to the relevant screenshots of the portal to demonstrate that no proper communication was effected except such portal upload. It was argued that in absence of valid service, limitation for filing appeal could not commence.

Issue:

Whether limitation for filing appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act commences when the Show Cause Notice and adjudication order are not properly served and are only uploaded on the GST portal under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab.

Held That:

The Court held that it was undisputed that the petitioner was not properly served with the Show Cause Notice and the adjudication order. Since service was effected only by uploading the documents on the portal under the “Additional Notices and Orders” tab, such service was not valid in law, in light of the binding precedent in Ram Kumar Sinhal. In absence of proper service, it could reasonably be inferred that the petitioner had no knowledge of the adjudication order. Consequently, limitation for filing appeal could not be said to have commenced.

The Appellate Authority erred in dismissing the appeal solely on the ground of delay without considering whether valid service had been effected. The authority failed to examine the foundational issue of commencement of limitation. Since the petitioner approached the appellate authority immediately upon gaining knowledge of the adjudication order, the Court condoned the technical delay.

Case Name: M/s. Multitech Solutions Versus Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Alipore Charge & Ors. dated 16.02.2026