Delhi HC Questions Vaish Associates Over Ignored GST Notice Amid Disputed Tax Demand of Rs. 5.89 Lakh
A firm named Vaish Associates has recently approached the Delhi High Court, challenging an order dated August 6, 2024, passed by the Commissioner of Delhi GST, raising a Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand of Rs. 5.89 lakh. The benches comprised Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain.
The demand order was issued due to discrepancies noticed in the companies’ GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C filings. The case was heard on August 29, 2025, where the court asked the company why it did not answer the show cause notice (SCN).
The court remarked, “You are a law firm; you didn’t respond to a notice sent to you. How will you respond to notices your clients have received?”
The advocate representing the side of the petitioner claimed that the case was only a settlement issue and the asked demand had already been paid in 2021 via DRC-03 filings. Said, even though the payment was done in the past, just because they did not answer the original SCN, it resulted in the issuance of the final order dated August 6, 2024.
After looking at these submissions, Justice Singh told the GST authorities to check if the payments were actually made. He noted that the necessary records, like GSTR-9, GSTR-9C, and DRC-03, were already available.
The court has not scheduled the next hearing for September 10, 2025, saying, “If the department confirms that the payment has been made, the order can be set aside.”
Form GSTR-9 is an annual GST return that needs to be filed once in a financial year by the registered taxpayers who were regular taxpayers, including SEZ units and SEZ developers. The return consolidates all monthly/quarterly filings; on the other hand, GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement comparing GSTR-9 with the audited financials.
GSTR-9 displays the total tax liability and payments of the taxpayer. GSTR-9C shows mismatches between returns and financial statements to prevent tax disputes and, certified by an auditor, ensures accuracy and compliance. DRC-03 is a Goods and Services (GST) form used for willing payments of tax, interest, or penalty to reconcile liabilities or mismatches.
