Reasonable opportunity of hearing under tax law must be properly served; failure to do so can invalidate the assessment order.

An assessment order under Section 22(4) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 is vulnerable where the dealer is not given the reasonable opportunity of being heard required by the proviso. The record did not establish due service of the notice allegedly issued, and the chronology in the order made the claimed hearing doubtful. On that basis, the court found that the requirement of personal hearing was not satisfied and the impugned order was set aside for breach of the statutory proviso.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order was liable to be set aside for want of reasonable opportunity of being heard before action under Section 22(4) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006.

Analysis: The order was passed under Section 22(4) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006, which contains an express proviso requiring that the dealer be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before action is taken. The record did not establish due service of the notice said to have been issued, and the chronology in the impugned order made the claimed opportunity doubtful. In these circumstances, the requirement of personal hearing was not satisfied.

Conclusion: The impugned order was liable to be set aside for breach of the proviso to Section 22(4) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006, and the writ petition succeeded.

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