Date of GST Notice and Personal Hearing alleged to be Same: Allahabad confirms Such Practice should Discontinued [Read Order]

The Allahabad High Court has confirmed that issuing a GST ( Goods and Services Tax ) show-cause notice and fixing the personal hearing on the very same date is a defective and legally unsustainable practice, directing that such a procedure must be discontinued by the tax authorities.

In the case of M/s Hitachi Systems India Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P., the Court examined the challenge raised against an order passed under Section 73 of the U.P. GST Act, along with the dismissal of the appeal on limitation grounds, and found that the foundational requirement of granting a meaningful opportunity of hearing had not been fulfilled.

The petitioner argued that the adjudicating authority had fixed the date of reply and the date of personal hearing on the same day, thereby depriving the assessee of a real and effective chance to present their case.

The Court noted that this contention had already been addressed by a Division Bench in Mahaveer Trading Company v. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, which had said that the right to personal hearing is a mandatory procedural safeguard under Section 75(4) of the Act and cannot be diluted or ignored by the authorities.

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Justice Jaspreet Singh referred to the Division Bench’s detailed observations, where it was held that despite changes in tax law, revenue authorities cannot modify or circumvent settled procedural principles, particularly the requirement to afford an assessee the opportunity to be heard before the passing of any adverse order.

The Court also noted an Office Memorandum issued by the Commissioner, Commercial Tax, U.P., admitting the recurring procedural defects in GST adjudication across field formations. This memo explicitly listed instances where personal hearing dates were either not mentioned, incorrectly placed prior to the date of reply, or fixed on the same date as the reply deadline procedural lapses that the memo described as “non-est” and directed authorities to discontinue immediately.

The High Court also noted the memo’s statement that such practices violate the principles of natural justice and cannot be allowed to subsist in tax adjudication.

Since the date of reply and the date of personal hearing were identical, the process adopted was fundamentally flawed. Consequently, the Court quashed both the assessment order dated 23.08.2024 and the appellate order dated 22.09.2025, holding them unsustainable in law.

The matter was remanded to the assessing authority with a direction to pass a fresh order strictly after granting adequate and proper opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

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