Natural justice in adjudication requires supply of relied upon documents and a fair hearing before de novo remand.

Where relied upon documents are not supplied and effective personal hearing is denied, adjudication cannot be sustained for breach of natural justice. The Tribunal therefore remanded the matter for de novo adjudication, directing supply of the relied upon documents and granting a fresh hearing. It also imposed a pre-deposit condition on the main appellant to secure cooperation and avoid further delay. The ruling underscores that procedural fairness is a mandatory requirement before adverse adjudication is finalised.

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Issues: Whether the matter required remand for de novo adjudication on the ground that the appellants were not supplied the relied upon documents and were denied effective opportunity of personal hearing, and whether such remand could be made subject to a pre-deposit condition.

Analysis: The record showed that the appellants had corresponded with the Revenue from the same address used for service of notices and that no change of address had been communicated. At the same time, the relied upon documents had not been supplied at the known postal address and were still being called for from the adjudicating authority. In these circumstances, the adjudication could not be sustained without ensuring compliance with the principles of natural justice. The Tribunal therefore found it to send the matter back for fresh adjudication, while also imposing a monetary condition to secure cooperation and prevent further delay.

Conclusion: The matter was remanded for de novo adjudication after supplying the relied upon documents and granting personal hearing, subject to the main appellant making the stipulated pre-deposit.

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