Rectification order issued without prior notice and hearing challenged; order set aside and matter sent back for fresh decision.

The dominant issue was whether a rectification order passed without due notice violated principles of natural justice. The HC held that absence of prior notice denied the affected party an opportunity of hearing, rendering the order legally unsustainable. Consequently, the impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted to the authority to pass a fresh order on merits in accordance with law, with the petition allowed to that extent.

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The writ petition challenged an order dated 02.07.2024 passed under Section 161 of the GST Act, 2017, which rectified an earlier order dated 27.04.2024. The demand proposed in the prior notices had been quantified, but was "re-quantified" through the impugned rectification order. The Court noted that the impugned order was passed "without due notice" to the petitioner, and relied on the principle applied in a similar case where interference was warranted when a rectification adversely affecting a taxpayer was made without prior opportunity. On this procedural infirmity, the Court held that the impugned order was "un-sustainable and is therefore liable to be set aside." The order dated 02.07.2024 was quashed and the matter remitted for a fresh decision "on merits and in accordance with law." The quashed order was directed to be treated "as addendum to the notice issued for rectifying the order dated 27.04.2024." The petitioner was granted 30 days to file a reply, and the authority was directed to pass a fresh order within two months, with the express direction that the petitioner "shall be heard" before the fresh order is made.

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