Tax Authority's Order Invalidated: Insufficient Hearing Opportunity Leads to Case Remand for Fair Procedural Review

HC allowed appeal against tax authority's order, finding insufficient hearing opportunity. The court set aside the original order dated 29.05.2023, remanded the matter to appellate authority, and directed a fresh hearing with proper consideration of the appellant's 38-page appeal petition, ensuring procedural fairness in the statutory appeal process.

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Issues Involved: Appeal against denial of interim order, inadequate opportunity for hearing by appellate authority.

Appeal Against Denial of Interim Order:
The High Court of Calcutta heard an intra court appeal against the order dated 26th September, 2023, in which the learned Single Bench had refused to grant any interim order in favor of the appellant. The writ petition was pending, and a direction was given to file an affidavit-in-opposition by the respondent department. At the request of the appellant's advocates, the writ petition and the appeal were disposed of by a common judgment and order.

Inadequate Opportunity for Hearing by Appellate Authority:
The petitioner was dissatisfied with an order issued by the appellate authority, the Joint Commissioner, State Tax, Berhampur Circle, on the basis that the appellant was not provided with a sufficient opportunity. The appellate authority scheduled a personal hearing on 29.05.2023, but the appellant did not attend, leading to the order being passed. Despite the normal circumstances where the court would not interfere with the order, it was noted that the appeal had been filed a year prior to the hearing date, and the appeal was disposed of on the first hearing date without considering the grounds raised in the 38-page appeal petition.

The High Court found that due to the one-year delay in hearing the appeal, the appellate authority should have granted another opportunity to the appellant by issuing a fresh notice of hearing. Additionally, none of the grounds raised by the appellant in the appeal petition were addressed. Consequently, the Court concluded that the appeal must be heard on its merits, and fresh orders need to be issued by the statutory appellate authority.

As a result, the appeal and the writ petition were allowed, setting aside the order of the appellate authority dated 29.05.2023. The matter was remanded to the appellate authority for a fresh consideration. The appellate authority was directed to schedule a new date for a personal hearing for the appellant or their authorized representative, and after reviewing the appellant's grounds and documents, fresh orders were to be passed in accordance with the law.

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