The Madras High Court has set aside the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) assessment order and recovery notice over denial of the Personal Hearing which is a mandatory under Section 75 (4) of the GST Act.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that the orders were flawed due to a violation of sub-section (4) of Section 75 of applicable GST enactments, which necessitates a personal hearing after a taxpayer’s response to a notice.
However, Mr. C. Harsha Raj, representing the government, argued that the proceedings had adhered to principles of natural justice, citing an audit as the basis for initiation.
The court found that the respondent failed to provide a personal hearing to the petitioner despite the statutory requirement. As a result, the impugned orders were interfered with.
Consequently, a Single bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy set aside the challenged orders and remanded the matters to the respondent for reconsideration. The respondent was instructed to afford the petitioner a reasonable opportunity, including a personal hearing, and to issue fresh orders within two months.
Additionally, the high court invalidated the recovery notice associated with the impugned orders, noting that it also pertained to pending appellate proceedings. Given the compliance with pre-deposit requirements under Section 107 of applicable GST enactments, the stay of recovery remained in force for the appellate proceedings. Accordingly, the writ petition was disposed of.
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