Article 14
3 articles
Death Is Not a Bar: Delhi High Court Holds Section 93 CGST Act Permits GST Penalty Proceedings to Be Commenced Against a Legal Representative After the Taxpayer's Death
More than three years after her husband died, the GST Department issued his widow a Show Cause Notice proposing a penalty for his alleged acts. She argued Section 93 of the CGST Act only lets proceedings already begun in a taxpayer's lifetime continue after death — not begin afresh. The Delhi High Court disagreed, upheld the provision against an Article 14 challenge, and ordered the Department to explain what it is still doing with ₹15.4 lakh in seized cash.
13 min readCircular, Not Notification: Delhi High Court Upholds the 'Highest Demand' Rule for Choosing a Common Adjudicating Authority in Multi-State DGGI Notices
Eight petitioners caught up in an alleged three-layer fake-invoicing chain challenged the jurisdiction of the Delhi-based officer who adjudicated a composite show cause notice naming 146 noticees, arguing that only a notification, not a circular, could assign an adjudicating authority. The Delhi High Court dismissed the petitions, holding that the 'highest demand' circular does no more than allocate business among officers already vested with pan-India jurisdiction by notification, and relegated the petitioners to their statutory appeal.
13 min readA Housing Board's Highest Bidder Gets No Vested Right to Allotment, Rajasthan High Court Holds
Across thirteen connected appeals, homebuyers who had offered the highest price at Rajasthan Housing Board auctions saw their allotments quashed after the Board relied on departmental comparisons of nearby, similarly sized properties. The High Court held that being the highest bidder is not enough where approval is still pending — but the authority's own reasons must survive scrutiny too.
12 min read