The Madras High Court quashed the assessment order passed under the Goods and Service Tax Act ( GST ) as the order was passed without allowing a hearing. It was found that the date of the hearing was fixed without considering the reply of the assessee.
M/s. P.R.Papers, the petitioner challenged the assessment orders passed by the Deputy State Tax Officer against the petitioner Company for the assessment years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019.
The petitioner is doing retail business dealing with A4 paper, paper board, files, carbon papers, writing and printing papers. The petitioner’s Firm was registered under the GST Act, 2017. The respondent inspected the petitioner’s premises on 23.09.2022 and 24.09.2022 and found some discrepancies, for which, a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner on 23.06.2023 fixing a personal hearing on 30.06.2023.
Since the notice was received by the petitioner belatedly, another show cause notice, dated 28.07.2023 fixing the personal hearing on 07.08.2023 was issued to the petitioner. According to the petitioner, she suffered from cancer and hence she could not attend the enquiry on the dates fixed by the respondents.
Finally, the respondent has fixed the personal hearing on 07.09.2023 and on that the petitioner appeared before the respondent with the relevant documents. However, the concerned officer was on leave on that day. Thereafter, the order impugned in this writ petition has been passed without providing an opportunity to the petitioner.
Mr. A.Baskaran, Additional Government Pleader, who takes notice for the respondent submitted that the petitioner was issued with the show cause notices providing sufficient opportunities for personal hearing. However, the petitioner failed to appear on those days. The concerned Officer, who is present before the Court submitted that on the date of the final personal hearing fixed on 07.09.2023, the officer was absent. Thereafter, the impugned orders came to be passed.
It was claimed by the petitioner that due to her ill health, she could not attend the enquiry on the dates fixed by the respondent. However, she appeared at the final personal hearing fixed on 07.09.2023 and on that day, the officer was absent and the same was agreed by the officer. Without considering the same, the impugned orders have been passed.
The petitioner has requested one more opportunity for a personal hearing. However, it appears that the same was not considered by the respondent.
Justice B Pugalendhi viewed that the principles of natural justice had been violated by the respondent before passing of the impugned assessment order as no reasons have been given by the respondent for rejecting the petitioner’s objections raised in the replies all dated 19.10.2022.
It was found that only after receipt of the reply and only in cases where the respondent contemplates an adverse decision against the petitioner, a personal hearing will have to be granted and not before a reply is received from the petitioner, that too when the reply has been duly acknowledged in that impugned orders.
The Court quashed the impugned assessment orders and the matters were remanded back to the respondent for fresh consideration on merits and by law.
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