Natural justice challenge failed where notices and hearing were given, and statutory remedies barred writ intervention.

Assessment and penalty orders were not shown to be vitiated by breach of natural justice where notices were issued, objections were invited, and a hearing was offered, but the conclusions were reached on the documents produced by the taxpayer. No further hearing was sought after production of the bills of lading, so the challenge on natural justice failed. As the dispute arose from assessment findings based on the material on record, the taxpayer was directed to pursue the statutory remedies under the Act rather than invoke writ jurisdiction under Article 226.

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Issues: Whether the assessment and penalty orders were vitiated by breach of natural justice, and whether the writ petition under Article 226 was maintainable despite the availability of statutory remedies.

Analysis: The petitioner had been issued notices under section 25(1) and section 67(1) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003, calling for objections and offering a hearing. The conclusions in the impugned orders were reached on the basis of the documents produced by the petitioner, and no further opportunity of hearing was sought after production of the bills of lading. In these circumstances, the orders were not shown to be vitiated by violation of natural justice. Since the dispute turned on assessment findings arising from the material produced, the petitioner was directed to pursue the remedies provided under the Act rather than invoke writ jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The challenge based on natural justice failed, and the writ petition was not maintainable under Article 226 in view of the statutory remedies.

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