Natural justice in GST adjudication led to setting aside an ex parte order, with fresh hearing made conditional on compliance.

An ex parte assessment order under the U.P. GST Act was found unsustainable where the adjudicating authority failed to fix a further date for hearing or afford a reasonable opportunity to reply before passing the order after a long lapse. That absence of meaningful hearing amounted to a breach of natural justice, so the order was set aside and the matter restored for fresh adjudication. Relief was nevertheless made conditional because the assessee had not pursued the statutory remedy in time, and the Court balanced equities by requiring compliance with the stipulated conditions before reconsideration.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte adjudication order passed under the U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was liable to be interfered with for breach of natural justice, and what relief should follow.

Analysis: The adjudicating authority was required to afford a reasonable opportunity by fixing a proper time for reply and personal hearing. The record showed that no further date was fixed for hearing and the order was passed after a long gap without any additional notice, resulting in breach of natural justice. At the same time, the petitioner had also not pursued the statutory remedy in time, so the relief had to be moulded by balancing equities.

Conclusion: The ex parte order was not sustainable and was liable to be set aside on compliance with the condition imposed by the Court. The matter was restored for fresh adjudication if the stipulated deposit was made and the petitioner filed its reply within the time allowed.

Final Conclusion: The petitioner obtained conditional relief against the impugned assessment order, and the adjudicating authority was directed to proceed afresh in accordance with law upon compliance.

Ratio Decidendi: An adjudication order passed without granting a reasonable further opportunity of hearing and reply, after the matter remains pending for an extended period, violates natural justice and can be interfered with, though relief may be conditioned to balance the conduct of the parties.

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