Business Closure No Excuse for Failing to Monitor indirect tax Portal While Registration Remains Active: Rajasthan HC [Read Order]

In a recent ruling, the Rajasthan High Court held that stopping business operations in the State was not a valid excuse for failing to monitor the GST portal when the company continued to hold an active GST registration.

GVK Jaipur Expressway Private Limited challenged an order dated 29 January 2024 passed in Form GST DRC-07 for the financial year 2017-18. The order raised a tax demand of ₹1,88,30,530. It also imposed interest of ₹2,14,60,613 and a penalty of ₹1,88,30,530. The petitioner also challenged a letter dated 19 December 2025 issued in Form GST DRC-13 to its bank, creating a lien over its bank account.

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The department objected to the writ petition and argued that the petitioner had an effective statutory appeal under Section 107 of the CGST and RGST Acts. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the company was unaware of the demand order because it had only been uploaded on the GST portal and had not been separately communicated. They stated that the company had stopped its business activities in Rajasthan on 10 April 2023 and was not expected to regularly check the portal after that date.