Sony Borewells vs The Assistant Commissioner(ST)
- Court
- Madras High Court
WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 02-11-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE KRISHNAN RAMASAMY
WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
and WMP Nos.49851, 49853, 49855 , 49861, 49864, 49867,
49863, 49866 and 49868 of 2026
CNR:{HCMA012484492026}
WP No. 44430 of 2026
Sony Borewells
(Rep. by its proprietor N.Gunasekaran )
3/75, Pappampalayam,
P.S. Mani Building, Karichipalayam PO,
Tiruchengode Taluk,Namakkal,
Tamil Nadu, 637201
..Petitioner
Vs
1. The Assistant Commissioner(ST)(FAC)
also known as the Commercial Tax Officer,
Namakkal Rural Circle, Namakkal
2. The Deputy Commissioner ST
Namakkal
3. The Assistant Commissioner ST
Namakkal Rural Circle, Namakkal
..Respondent(s)
__________
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
WP No. 44434 of 2026
CNR:{HCMA012518472026}
Sony Borewells
(Represented by its Proprietor N.Gunasekaran)
Address.3/75, Pappampalayam, P.S. Mani Building,
Karichipalayam PO,
Tiruchengode TK, Namakkal,
Tamil Nadu, 637201
..Petitioner(s)
Vs
1. The Assistant Commissioner (ST)
Namakkal (Rural) Circle, Namakkal
2. The Deputy Commissioner (ST)
Namakkal
..Respondent(s)
WP No. 44435 of 2026
CNR:{HCMA012518592026}
Sony Borewells
(Rep. by its proprietor N.Gunasekaran )
3/75, Pappampalayam,
P.S. Mani Building, Karichipalayam PO,
Tiruchengode Taluk,Namakkal,
Tamil Nadu, 637201
..Petitioner(s)
Vs
__________
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
1. The Assistant Commissioner (ST)
Namakkal (Rural) Circle, Namakkal
2. The Assistant Commissioner(st)(fac)
also known as the Commercial Tax Officer,
Namakkal Rural Circle, Namakkal
3. The Deputy Commissioner ST
Namakkal
..Respondent(s)
WP No. 44430 of 2026
PRAYER: The Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India seeking the issuance of a Writ of Certiorari calling for the records on the
files of the first respondent herein vide order reference no.
th
33ACQPG3823K2ZH/2019-20 dated 28 August, 2024, issued along with the
summary of the order in GST DRC-07 No. ZD330824254184E dated 28th
August, 2024 for the period between April 2019 to March 2020, quash the same
WP No. 44434 of 2026
PRAYER: The Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India seeking the issuance of a Writ of Certiorari calling for the records on the
files of the first respondent herein in the order Ref. No.
th
GSTIN-33ACQPG3823K2ZH/2018-19 dated 25 April 2024 issued along with
the summary of the order in GST DRC-07 No. ZD330424208658D dated 26th
April 2024 for the period between April 2018 to March 2019, quash the same or
pass.
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
WP No. 44435 of 2026
PRAYER: The Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India seeking the issuance of a Writ of Certiorari calling for the records on the
files of the first respondent herein vide order reference no.
th
33ACQPG3823K2ZH/ 2023-24 dated 19 June, 2025, issued along with the
summary of the order in GST DRC-07 No. ZD330625207149H dated 19th
June, 2025 for the period between April 2023 to March 2024, quash the same or
pass
For Petitioner(s):
Ms. S. Vishnupriya
in all W.Ps.
For Respondent(s):
Mr. I. Dinesh
Additional Government Pleader (Taxes)
in all W.Ps.
COMMON ORDER
The present Writ Petitions have been filed challenging the orders dated
28.08.2024, 25.04.2024 and 19.06.2025 along with the respective summary of
the order issued in Form DRC-07, passed by the first respondent.
2. Mr. I. Dinesh, learned Additional Government Pleader (Taxes) takes
notice on behalf of the respondents. By consent of the parties, the main Writ
Petitions are taken up for disposal at the admission stage itself.
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that in these cases,
all notices/communications were uploaded by the first respondent under the
“View Additional Notices and Orders” column in the GST common portal.
Since the petitioner was not aware of the said notices, they failed to file their
reply within the time. Under these circumstances, the impugned order came to
be passed by the first respondent without providing any opportunity of personal
hearing to the petitioner. Therefore, these petitions have been filed.
4. Further, she would submit that the petitioner is voluntarily willing to
pay 25% of the disputed tax amount to the first respondent in respect of each
assessment order. To that effect, she has also made an endorsement in the Court
bundle. Hence, she requests this Court to grant an opportunity to the petitioner
to present their case before the first respondent by setting aside the impugned
orders.
5. On the other hand, the learned Additional Government Pleader
appearing for the respondent would submit that the first respondent had
uploaded the notices in the GST Online Portal. But the petitioner failed to avail
the said opportunity. Further, he has fairly admitted that no opportunity of
personal hearing was provided to the petitioner prior to the passing of impugned
orders. Therefore, he requested this Court to remit the matters back to the first
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
respondent, subject to the payment of 25% of the disputed tax amount by the
petitioner.
6. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the Additional
Government Pleader for the respondent and also perused the materials available
on record.
7. In the case on hand, it is evident that the show cause notice was
uploaded on the GST Portal Tab. According to the petitioner, he was not aware
of the issuance of the said show cause notice issued through the GST Portal and
the original of the said show cause notice was not furnished to them. In such
circumstances, this Court is of the view that the impugned assessment order
came to be passed without affording any opportunity of personal hearing to the
petitioner, confirming the proposals contained in the show cause notice.
8. No doubt, sending notice by uploading in portal is a sufficient service,
but, the Officer who is sending the repeated reminders, despite the fact that
there is no response from the petitioner to the show cause notices etc., should
have applied his/her mind and explored the possibility of sending notices by
way of other modes prescribed in Section 169 of the GST Act, which are also
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
the valid mode of service under the Act, otherwise it will not be an effective
service, rather, it would only amount to fulfilling the empty formalities. Merely
passing an ex parte order by fulfilling the empty formalities will not serve any
useful purpose and the same will only pave way for 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.
9. Thus, when there is no response from the tax payer to the notice sent
through a particular mode, the Officer who is issuing notices should strictly
explore the possibilities of sending notices through some other mode as
prescribed in Section 169(1) of the Act, preferably by way of RPAD, which
would ultimately achieve the object of the GST Act. Therefore, this Court finds
that there has been a lack of effort in applying the available opportunities to
serve the notices/orders etc., effectively to the petitioner.
10. Further, it was submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that
the petitioner is willing to pay 25% of the disputed tax amount to the first
respondent in respect of each assessment order. In such view of the matter, this
Court is inclined to set aside the impugned orders dated 28.08.2024, 25.04.2024
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
and 19.06.2025 passed by the first respondent. Accordingly, this Court passes
the following order:-
(i) The impugned orders dated 28.08.2024, 25.04.2024 and
19.06.2025 along with the respective summary of the order
issued in GST DRC-07, are set aside and the matters are
remanded to the first respondent for fresh consideration on
condition that the petitioner pays 25% of disputed tax
amount to the first respondent in respect of each assessment
order, within a period of four (4) weeks from the date of
receipt of a copy of this order. The setting aside of the
impugned orders will take effect from the date of payment of
the said amount. In the event, any amount is already recovered
or deposited, the petitioner is granted liberty to adjust the said
amount while making payment of 25% of the disputed tax
amount.
(ii) The petitioner shall file their reply/objection along with
the required documents, if any, within a period of three weeks
from the date of payment of amount as stated above.
(iii) On filing of such reply/objection by the petitioner, the
respondent shall consider the same and issue a 14 days clear
notice, by fixing the date of personal hearing, to the petitioner
and thereafter, pass appropriate orders on merits and in
accordance with law, after hearing the petitioner, as
expeditiously as possible.
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
11. With the above directions, these Writ Petitions are disposed of. No
costs. W.M.P.Nos.49851, 49861 and 49863 of 2026 filed to dispense with the
production of the original impugned orders, are allowed. Consequently, the
connected Miscellaneous Petitions are also closed.
02-11-2026
Index: Yes/No
Speaking/Non-speaking order
Neutral Citation: Yes/No
Asi
To
1. The Assistant Commissioner(ST)(FAC)
also known as the Commercial Tax Officer,
Namakkal Rural Circle, Namakkal
2. The Deputy Commissioner ST
Namakkal
3. The Assistant Commissioner ST
Namakkal Rural Circle, Namakkal
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WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
KRISHNAN RAMASAMY J.
Asi
WP Nos. 44430, 44434 and 44435 of 2026
and WMP Nos.49851, 49853, 49855 , 49861, 49864, 49867,
49863, 49866 and 49868 of 2026
02-11-2026
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