No Personal Hearing Granted Before GST Order: Allahabad HC Sets Aside order noting Tax Office Memo [Read Order]

The Court, presided over by Justice Jaspreet Singh, held that denial of a personal hearing amounts to a clear violation of Section 75(4) of the GST Act, which mandates that such opportunity must be granted whenever an adverse decision is contemplated.

The petitioner, M/s Jagjit Enterprises Private Ltd., had challenged the order dated 31 December 2023, as well as the subsequent appellate order dated 23 September 2025, which dismissed the appeal as time-barred.

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The petitioner’s counsel Adv. Amrendra Verma argued that the adjudicating authority failed to fix any date for a personal hearing before passing the order under Section 73, resulting in the assessment being unsustainable in law.

The counsel, for supporting contentions, relied on the Division Bench judgment in Mahaveer Trading Company v. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax and Another, where the Court said that providing an opportunity for personal hearing is a fundamental component of procedural law under taxing statutes.

The High Court reiterated that Section 75(4) of the GST law clearly stipulates that an opportunity of hearing “shall be granted” when a written request is made by the assessee or when any adverse decision is contemplated.

The Bench observed that despite the petitioner submitting written replies on multiple occasions, the adjudicating officer did not fix or conduct any personal hearing before passing the final assessment order. This procedural lapse, the Court noted, struck at the very root of natural justice.

The judgment also took note of the corrective steps issued by the Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Uttar Pradesh, through Office Memo No. 1406 dated 12 November 2024, which directed all field officers to strictly ensure proper scheduling and documentation of personal hearings before passing orders under Sections 73 or 74.

The memo also cautioned officers against the practice of recording “N.A.” (Not Applicable) in the hearing column or fixing the same date for reply submission and personal hearing, a practice the Court described as “non-est and unacceptable.”

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The High Court held that the impugned orders could not stand in law and therefore set aside both the assessment order and the appellate order.

The matter was remanded back to the assessing authority with a direction to pass a fresh, reasoned order after granting the petitioner a proper opportunity of personal hearing.

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