Personal hearing before assessment objections is mandatory; denial vitiated the sales tax assessment and required fresh reconsideration.

Assessment orders under the Central Sales Tax regime were held unsustainable because the assessee's objections were not considered after affording a personal hearing. The court treated the denial of hearing as a breach of natural justice and held that such a procedural defect vitiated the assessment proceedings, without examining the substantive tax issue on freight charges. The orders were set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh assessment after granting the assessee an opportunity of personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the impugned sales tax assessment orders were liable to be set aside for want of personal hearing to the assessee.

Analysis: The dispute concerned assessment of freight charges in the turnover under the Central Sales Tax regime. The assessee had filed objections and sought a personal hearing before finalisation, but the objections were not considered after such hearing. The Court held that objections to an assessment must be considered only after affording an opportunity of personal hearing. Non-affording of that opportunity vitiated the assessment proceedings, and the Court declined to examine the substantive tax issues in view of the procedural defect.

Conclusion: The assessment orders were unsustainable for breach of natural justice and were set aside, with the matter remitted for fresh assessment after granting personal hearing to the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The challenge succeeded on a procedural ground, and the assessments were required to be reconsidered afresh after hearing the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment order is liable to be set aside where the assessee is denied a personal hearing on objections that must be considered before finalisation.

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