Natural justice bars rejection of a GST appeal for a curable defect without prior notice and opportunity to rectify.

An appellate GST appeal cannot be rejected for a curable procedural defect, such as non-supply of a certified copy, unless the appellant is first informed of the defect and given a fair opportunity to rectify it. Where the record did not show prior intimation or time to cure the defect, rejection after a long lapse was arbitrary, unreasonable, and contrary to natural justice. The rejection was therefore unsustainable and was set aside, and the matter was remitted to the appellate authority to entertain the appeal and allow removal of the defect.

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Issues: Whether rejection of the GST appeal solely for non-supply of the certified copy, without prior intimation of the defect and opportunity to cure it, was legally sustainable.

Analysis: The appeal had been filed earlier, and the record did not show that the appellate authority had informed the appellant about the defect or granted time to remove it. Rejection after a long lapse, without such intimation, was held to be arbitrary, unreasonable, and contrary to the principles of natural justice. The appellate authority was required to notify the defect and afford an opportunity for compliance before resorting to rejection.

Conclusion: The rejection of the appeal was unsustainable and was set aside, with the matter remitted to the appellate authority to entertain the appeal and permit removal of the defect as pointed out by it.

Ratio Decidendi: An appeal cannot be rejected for a curable procedural defect unless the appellant is first informed of the defect and given a fair opportunity to rectify it.

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