The Madras High Court has set aside a GST ( Goods and Services Tax ) assessment order due to procedural lapses, including the belated upload of the show cause notice on the GST portal, which deprived the petitioner of a fair opportunity to respond. The case has been remanded for fresh consideration, subject to a pre-deposit condition.
The petitioner, Mataji Hardware challenged the assessment order dated 18.07.2024, contending that the show cause notice, initially issued on 18.11.2023, was uploaded late on the GST portal. At the time, the petitioner was hospitalized and unaware of the notice. Consequently, they could not submit a reply or participate in the proceedings before the tax authorities. Despite this, the first respondent passed the impugned order, demanding tax along with interest and penalties for the assessment year 2022-23.
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During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the order was passed without granting an opportunity for a personal hearing, violating the principles of natural justice. The Special Government Pleader ( Taxes ) for the respondents countered that reminder notices were uploaded on the GST portal, but the petitioner failed to respond, leading to the final assessment order.
Justice Krishnan Ramasamy acknowledged the delayed upload of the show cause notice and stated that the lack of a personal hearing warranted reconsideration.
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The petitioner submitted that it is willing to deposit 10% of the disputed tax liability in exchange for an opportunity to present their case. The respondent, however, insisted on a 25% pre-deposit.
After reviewing the submissions, the Madras High Court ruled that the impugned order be set aside and the matter remanded for fresh consideration on the condition that the petitioner deposits 20% of the disputed tax amount within four weeks.
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Additionally, the bench directed the petitioner to file a reply with supporting documents within two weeks thereafter. The tax authorities are directed to issue a 14-day notice for a personal hearing before passing a fresh order in accordance with the law.
Accordingly, the writ petition was allowed and the impugned GST demand order was set aside.
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