Kalaiselvi Govindasamy Vs Commercial Tax Officer — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2026)

Kalaiselvi Govindasamy Vs Commercial Tax Officer — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Writ petition disposed of with directions: case remitted to the respondent for fresh adjudication subject to deposit of the entire disputed tax within 30 days (in cash or from Electronic Cash Ledger); reply to the DRC-01 show cause notice to be filed treating the impugned order as an addendum; amounts already recovered/paid to be adjusted towards the pre-deposit subject to verification; on compliance, fresh final order on merits preferably within three months and bank attachment automatically raised/vacated; on default, respondent free to recover the tax as if the writ petition were dismissed in limine. Connected W.M.Ps closed. No costs.

Issue for consideration

Whether the assessment order dated 20.12.2023, passed without any reply to the Show Cause Notice or appearance at the personal hearing, should be quashed and the case remitted for de novo adjudication subject to pre-deposit of the entire disputed tax. +2 more

Court's answer

Following the consistent view taken under similar circumstances (orders quashed and cases remitted on assessee depositing 25% to 100% of disputed tax depending on length of delay), the court found no reason to take a different view in this case.

Ratio / Principle

To balance the interests of the assessee and the Revenue, the case is remitted back to the respondent subject to the petitioner depositing the entire disputed tax confirmed vide the impugned order, in cash or from the Electronic Cash Ledger, within thirty (30) days of receipt of a copy of the order.

Key takeaways

Within the said time the petitioner shall also file a reply to the Show Cause Notice in GST DRC-01 with requisite documents, treating the impugned order as an addendum to the Show Cause Notice.ratio¶27
Amounts already recovered from or paid by the petitioner towards the tax liability confirmed vide the impugned order dated 20.12.2023 shall be adjusted towards the pre-deposit of the entire disputed tax, subject to verification by the petitioner.ratio¶31

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Madras High Court (C.Saravanan, J.) disposed of, at admission stage with consent of counsel, a writ petition under Article 226 challenging a GST assessment order in DRC-07 (Ref. ZD331223148820Q, GSTIN 33BLIPG6145G1ZA, period JUL 2017-MAR 2018) dated 20.12.2023, which was passed ex parte after a DRC-01 show cause notice dated 29.09.2023 and three reminders, to which the petitioner neither replied nor appeared. Following the court's consistent practice of quashing orders and remitting cases on pre-deposit of 25%-100% of disputed tax depending on delay, the case was remitted to the Commercial Tax Officer subject to deposit of the ENTIRE disputed tax within 30 days in cash or from the Electronic Cash Ledger, with amounts already recovered or paid to be adjusted towards the pre-deposit subject to verification; the petitioner was directed to file a reply to the SCN treating the impugned order as an addendum thereto. On compliance, a fresh final order on merits is to be passed preferably within three months and the bank attachment stands automatically raised/vacated (lifting conditional on deposit and no arrears beyond the impugned demand); on default, recovery may proceed as if the writ petition were dismissed in limine, with due notice before any fresh order. Connected W.M.Ps closed; no costs.

W.P.No.1674 of 2026

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 20.01.2026

CORAM :

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.SARAVANAN

W.P.No.1674 of 2026

and

W.M.P.Nos.1727 and 1729 of 2026

KALAISELVI GOVINDASAMY [Trade Name:Tvl.Smart Electrical Engineers] represented by its Proprietrix, 11A, Jayapriya Nagar, Abatharanapuram, Vadalur, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu – 607 303. ... Petitioner

Vs. Commercial Tax Officer, Cuddalore (Taluk): Cuddalore: Cuddalore: Tamil Nadu ... Respondent

Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, for issuance of a Writ of Certiorari, to call for the records of the Order of Assessment in DRC-07 bearing Reference No:ZD331223148820Q in GSTIN/ID:33BLIPG6145G1ZA/JUL 2017 MAR 2018 dated 20.12.2023 passed by the respondent and to quash the same.

For Petitioner : Mr.R.Ganesh Kanna For Respondent : Mr.TNC Kaushik, Additional Government Pleader ***************

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W.P.No.1674 of 2026

O R D E R

This writ petition is being disposed of at the state of admission itself with the consent of the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additioanl Government Pleader for the Respondent.

In this writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the impugned Assessment order dated 20.12.2023. The Impugned Assessment order dated 20.12.2023 was preceded by a Show Cause Notice in DRC-01 dated 29.09.2023 and 3 Reminders, whereby the Petitioner was called upon to appear for a personal hearing fixed. However, the petitioner was neither filed any reply to the Show Cause Notice nor appeared for the personal hearing fixed. Thus, the impugned Assessment order has been passed.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is willing to make a pre-deposit of the entire disputed tax as a condition for de novo adjudication. It is further submitted that nearly 90% of the disputed tax has already been recovered from the Petitioner and the same may be adjusted towards the pre-deposit.

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W.P.No.1674 of 2026

However, the learned counsel for the respondent is unable to confirm the said recovery made from the petitioner.

Under similar circumstances, Orders have been quashed and

cases have been remitted back to the Respondent to pass a fresh order on terms subject to such Assessee depositing 25% to 100% of the disputed tax depending upon the length of delay in approaching the Court. I do not find any reason to take a different view in this case.

Therefore, to balance the interest of both parties viz., the Assessee and the Revenue, and following the consistent view taken under similar circumstances, the case is remitted back to the respondent, subject to the petitioner depositing the entire disputed tax confirmed vide the impugned order in cash or from the petitioner’s Electronic Cash Ledger within a period of thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

Within such time, the Petitioner shall also file a reply to the Show Cause Notice in GST DRC-01 together with requisite documents to substantiate the case by treating the impugned Order as an addendum to the Show Cause Notice.

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W.P.No.1674 of 2026

Amount which has already recovered from the petitioner or paid by the petitioner towards the tax liability confirmed vide impugned order dated 20.12.2023 shall be adjusted towards the pre-deposit of entire amount of disputed tax as ordered above. This will be however subject to verification by the petitioner.

In case the petitioner complies with the above stipulations, the respondent shall proceed to pass a final order on merits and in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of three (3) months from the date of such reply and pre-deposit. Subject to such compliance, the attachment of the petitioner’s bank account shall stand automatically raised/vacated.

It is made clear that bank attachment shall be lifted subject to the deposit of entire disputed tax as ordered above and the Petitioner is not in arrears of any amount barring the amount demanded under the impugned Order.

In case the petitioner fails to comply with any of the above stipulations, the respondent shall be at liberty to proceed against the petitioner for recovery of the tax in accordance with law, as if this writ petition was dismissed in limine today.

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W.P.No.1674 of 2026

Needless to state, before passing any such order, the Respondent shall give due notice to the Petitioner.

The writ petition is disposed of with the above observations. No costs. Consequently, connected W.M.Ps are closed.

20.01.2026

nvi

Neutral Citations: Yes/No

To:

Commercial Tax Officer, Cuddalore (Taluk): Cuddalore: Cuddalore: Tamil Nadu

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W.P.No.1674 of 2026

C.SARAVANAN, J.

nvi

W.P.No.1674 of 2026 and W.M.P.Nos.1727 and 1729 of 2026

20.01.2026

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