The Kerala Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) Department recently issued Circular No: 04/2024 dated March 30, 2024, introducing guidelines concerning the Issuance of Show Cause Notices/Orders under sections 73 & 74, specifically focusing on the Numbering of Show Cause Notices/Orders. Show cause notices under sections 73 & 74 of the SGST Act are now being issued by various verticals within the Department, including Intelligence and Enforcement, Audit, and Taxpayer Services. Rule 142 (1)(a) of the Kerala GST Rules now mandates the electronic serving of a summary notice in Form GST DRC-01 alongside the notice issued under Section 73 or Section 74 of the State GST Act. These notices, prepared manually by the proper officer, are then uploaded on the portal. Moreover, the adjudication of Show Cause Notices issued under sections 73/74 of the SGST Act is being handled by the Taxpayer Services Vertical.

The adjudication order, also prepared manually, is then uploaded on the portal accompanied by Form DRC-07. These notices and orders serve as the foundation for further legal proceedings, even extending to tribunals and courts. The Department acknowledges the necessity of recording and tracking Show Cause Notices and adjudication orders through potentially lengthy litigation cycles. Currently, there exists a lack of uniformity among State GST formations regarding the numbering of these notices and orders. Proper officers have been uploading SCNs and Orders without assigning any serial numbers for identification purposes. This lack of standardization raises challenges in tracking and referencing these crucial documents, particularly as they are manually prepared without generating an online reference number.

To address these challenges and ensure uniformity and clarity, the Kerala GST Department has issued the following instructions: Every Show Cause Notice under sections 73 and 74, attached with the DRC-01, shall carry a distinct and unique SCN number following a specific format.

The format of the Show Cause Notice Number includes the SCN prefix, short forms of vertical, district, office, a unique number, and the issuing officer’s short form. Similarly, Adjudication Orders under sections 73 and 74, attached with the DRC-07, shall carry a distinct and unique order number following a specific format. The format of the Adjudication Order Number (Order-in-Original number) includes the OIO prefix, short forms of vertical, district, office, year, a unique number, and the issuing officer’s short form. Registers for issuing Show Cause Notice Numbers and Adjudication Order Numbers must be maintained in every relevant office. Supervisory authorities are tasked with periodically verifying these registers to ensure correct numbering of Show Cause Notices and Adjudication Orders. This new numbering system for Notices and Orders will come into effect from April 01, 2024.