Mandatory personal hearing under GST cannot be ignored; adjudication fails where Section 75(4) notice requirements are not met.

An adjudication under Section 74 of the West Bengal GST Act, 2017 and the CGST Act, 2017 cannot be sustained where the proper officer fails to afford the statutory opportunity of hearing required by Section 75(4). The record showed that the show cause notice did not specify the date, time or venue for personal hearing, and no hearing was granted before the order was passed. On that basis, the adjudication was held unsustainable and was quashed for breach of the mandatory hearing requirement.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order passed under Section 74 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 could be sustained when the proper officer did not afford the statutory opportunity of hearing contemplated by Section 75(4) of the said enactments.

Analysis: The record showed that the show cause notice did not specify the date, time and venue of personal hearing, and it stood admitted that no opportunity of hearing was granted before passing the adjudication order. The statutory requirement of affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing under Section 75(4) was therefore not complied with. In such circumstances, the adjudication could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The adjudication order was held unsustainable and was quashed for breach of the mandatory hearing requirement.

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