Taxpayer Wins Challenge Against GST Order, Citing Violation of Natural Justice Under Section 74

HC quashed GST order under Section 74 for violating natural justice principles. Petitioner's reply was not considered in the original order. Court remanded matter for fresh consideration, mandating personal hearing within twelve weeks and quashing bank attachment notice. Order issued without costs, emphasizing procedural fairness in tax proceedings.

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Issues:
Challenging order under Section 74 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for violation of natural justice principles. Non-consideration of petitioner's reply in the impugned order. Dispute regarding service of speaking order and only receiving a summary. Quashing of impugned order and remand for fresh consideration. Bank attachment notice quashed.

Analysis:
The writ petition was filed to challenge an order passed under Section 74 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, alleging a violation of principles of natural justice. The petitioner argued that their reply dated 25.02.2022 in Form GST DRC-06 to the show cause notice was not considered in the impugned order dated 05.04.2022. Additionally, the petitioner claimed that only a summary of the order was served, and the detailed order was not provided or uploaded on the web portal of the respondents.

During the proceedings, the Additional Government Pleader for the respondents could not confirm whether the petitioner's reply dated 25.02.2022 was received. However, the petitioner presented Form GST DRC-06 as proof of receipt. Despite this, the impugned order did not reference or consider the petitioner's reply. The respondents asserted that the speaking order was uploaded along with the summary, but the petitioner disputed this, stating only the summary was served. As the petitioner demonstrated that their reply was not considered, the Court did not address the issue of non-service of the speaking order.

Consequently, the Court quashed the impugned order dated 05.04.2022 and remanded the matter back to the respondents for fresh consideration, emphasizing adherence to natural justice principles and providing a personal hearing to the petitioner within twelve weeks. The bank attachment notice issued to the 3rd respondent bank was also quashed as a result of the order. The writ petition was disposed of with no costs, and connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.

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