Natural justice in VAT revision orders requires personal hearing before finalisation; orders were quashed and remanded

Revision orders under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 were quashed because the authority failed to grant a personal hearing after receiving objections, contrary to the show-cause notices and Circular No. 7/2014 requiring a reasonable opportunity of hearing before finalising revision proposals. The breach of natural justice rendered the orders unsustainable, and the matters were remanded for fresh consideration with a personal hearing. The Court did not examine the merits of the assessment and left those issues open.

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Issues: Whether the revision orders under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 were liable to be quashed for denial of personal hearing and violation of principles of natural justice.

Analysis: The show-cause notices stated that the dealer would be given an opportunity of being heard, and the objections filed by the dealer required a further personal hearing before finalisation of the revision proposals. The Court also noted that Circular No. 7/2014 mandated a reasonable opportunity and personal hearing before passing a revision order. Since the authority did not fix a personal hearing after receiving objections, the revision orders were passed in breach of natural justice. The Court declined to examine the merits of the assessment and left those issues open.

Conclusion: The revision orders were quashed and the matters were remanded for fresh consideration after affording personal hearing to the dealer.

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