Denial of personal hearing in VAT assessment justified remand for fresh assessment, without reopening the constitutional challenge.

Ex parte assessment orders under the Kerala Value Added Tax Act were set aside where the assessee could not appear in response to the hearing notice and the explanation for absence was accepted as genuine. The Court treated the denial of a personal hearing as sufficient to require interference and remitted the matter for fresh assessment by the assessing authority. Relief was confined to enabling a fresh adjudication and did not disturb the earlier rejection of the constitutional challenge.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte assessment orders under the Kerala Value Added Tax Act should be set aside and the matter remitted for fresh assessment on the ground of denial of hearing.

Analysis: The appellant was unable to appear before the assessing authority in response to the notice for hearing, and the Court accepted the explanation as genuine. Since a sister concern functioning under the same management had been afforded similar relief on comparable facts, the impugned judgment and review order were liable to be interfered with to the limited extent necessary to enable a fresh adjudication. The Court also confined the relief so as not to disturb the earlier rejection of the constitutional challenge.

Conclusion: The ex parte assessment orders were not sustained and the assessing authority was directed to conduct fresh assessments after affording a personal hearing.

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