Small taxpayers need to be vigilant in checking up on GST demand notices: Experts

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Supreme Court of India upheld the order of the Patna High Court where it dismissed a writ petition filed by a taxpayer against a GST assessment order. In the case of Vishwanath Traders, the order has wide ramifications for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), ‘small business persons’ and professionals. This occurred because several of them approach the high courts directly for remedy against a demand notice which is due to a delay in filing an appeal from their side.

Sunil Gabhawalla, founding partner of a CA firm, told TOI that a response (appeal) to a demand notice must be made within three months. In case of a delay, the jurisdictional appellate commissioner can be approached for seeking a one-month extension. In case more than four months have passed, the only recourse available is to file a writ with high courts, he added.

Many small taxpayers do not keep track of of the assessment orders, which could contain significant demands and are served online through the GST portal. As a result, many times, the four-month period passes before they are aware of the demand raised. Manish Gadia, partner at GMJ & Co, a firm of chartered accountants, said to TOI, “The process of serving notices online through the common portal first began in financial year 2020-21.

Unfortunately, small taxpayers do not have the bandwidth to check the portal on a day-to-day basis. In the case of many such taxpayers, notices and demands have piled up. To make matters worse, since the past few months, bank accounts are being attached for non-payment.