IMPORTANT POINT
The show cause notice must specifically state the reasons for proposing a recovery, and a demand cannot be created without the proper officer forming at least a prima facie view that the tax has not been paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or the ITC had been wrongly availed or utilized by reason of fraud or any wilful-misstatement or suppression of facts.

JUDGMENT

Vibhu Bakhru, J.

1.  The petitioner is, essentially, aggrieved by the blocking of its Input Tax Credit (hereafter `ITC').

2.  According to the petitioner, it was entitled to avail cumulative ITC amounting to .2,30,35,228/- as on 01.07.2017 under the erstwhile Value Added Tax (hereafter `VAT') regime.

3.  The petitioner filed the requisite form (GST Tran-I) on 07.10.2017 for transition of the ITC as available under the VAT regime, to the GST regime on its roll out with effect from 01.07.2017.

4.  The petitioner claims that on 13.07.2018, it found that a credit amounting to .1,77,81,200/- had been blocked by the respondents in June, 2018.

5.  According to the petitioner, there were no plausible reasons for blocking the petitioner's ITC. It claims that its representatives made several visits to the GST officials in the month of July, 2018 to August, 2018, but could not ascertain the reason for blocking of the ITC.

6.  The petitioner also submitted representations but the same were not considered. It is stated that on 27.11.2018, the petitioner also raised a ticket (Ticket No. 201811274349279), but was unsuccessful in eliciting a resolution of its complaint.

7.  The petitioner claims that on 03.09.2019, it also made a complaint on the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System, which was registered as DORVU/E/2019/02126. But the said complaint elicited no response as well.

8.  The petitioner filed the present writ petition, inter alia, praying that directions be issued to the respondents for unblocking its ITC of Rs.1,77,81,220/-. The petitioner also claims interest at 12% per annum on the said amount on the ground that the respondents had illegally deprived the petitioner of its valuable resource, and therefore, the petitioner had to make payments in cash instead of utilising the ITC.

9.  The respondents have filed an affidavit inter alia affirming that the petitioner's ITC was unblocked automatically with effect from 08.04.2022. Thus, the petitioner's grievance regarding blocking of the ITC does not survive.

10.  After the petition was filed, the respondents issued a Show Cause Notice dated 25.03.2022 (hereafter `the impugned show cause notice') under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereafter `the CGST Act'), the contents of which read as under:

Show Cause Notice under Section 73

It has come to my notice that tax due has not been paid or short paid or refund has been released erroneously or input tax credit has been wrongly availed or utilized by you or the amount paid by you through the above referred application for intimation of voluntary payment for the reasons and other details mentioned in annexure for the aforesaid tax period.

Therefore, you are directed to furnish a reply along with supporting documents as evidence in support of your claim by the date mentioned in table below.

You may appear before the undersigned for personal hearing either in person or through authorized representative for representing your case on the date, time and venue, if mentioned in table below.

Please note that besides tax, you are also liable to pay interest and penalty in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

If you make payment of tax stated above along with up to date interest within 30 days of the issue of this notice with applicable penalty then proceeding may be deemed to have been concluded.

Details of personal hearing etc.

Demand details-

11.  As is apparent from the above that the impugned show cause notice did not disclose any reason f