Physical service and natural justice in tax recovery: bank freeze and assessment communication set aside, matter remitted for fresh hearing.

Non-service of an assessment order in physical form, where the assessee could not reasonably access the GST portal after registration cancellation, was treated as a breach of natural justice. On that basis, the consequential bank-freezing recovery communication was interfered with and both communications were set aside. The matter was remitted for fresh adjudication, with the assessee directed to deposit 10% of the disputed tax demand, file a reply, and receive a personal hearing through physical notice before a fresh order on merits is passed.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order and the consequential communication attaching the bank account were liable to be set aside for want of physical service and violation of natural justice, with directions for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The impugned assessment order was not served in physical form, and the petitioner came to know of it only when the bank received a communication freezing the account for recovery of tax demand. Since the petitioner's GST registration had already been cancelled, insistence on viewing the web portal alone was not treated as adequate service. The non-service of the order in the circumstances was held to be contrary to natural justice.

Conclusion: The assessment order and the communication to the bank were set aside. The petitioner was directed to deposit 10% of the disputed tax demand, submit a reply, and thereafter be given a personal hearing through physical notice before a fresh order is passed on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an assessment order is not physically served and the assessee cannot reasonably access the online portal, consequential recovery action based on such non-service is liable to be interfered with for violation of natural justice, and the matter may be remitted for fresh adjudication after proper notice and hearing.

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