Natural justice in GST assessment: portal-only notice and denial of hearing led to setting aside of demand orders and remand.

The HC set aside GST assessment and demand orders because notices were uploaded only on the portal and were not effectively served on the petitioner. As the small concern was not shown to have had real notice, it was denied a proper chance to file a reply or seek personal hearing, and the orders were treated as ex parte and unsustainable. The Court held that such denial of notice and hearing violated principles of natural justice and constitutional guarantees of equality and the right to carry on business. The matter was remanded for fresh consideration after giving the petitioner an opportunity to respond and be heard.

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Issues: Whether the impugned assessment and demand orders were liable to be set aside for want of proper service and denial of personal hearing, and whether the matter required remand with consequential relief.

Analysis: The notices and communications were uploaded only on the GST portal and were not served directly on the petitioner. On the facts, the petitioner, being a small concern, was not shown to have had effective notice of the proceedings or an opportunity to file a reply or seek personal hearing before the impugned orders were passed. An order passed without affording such opportunity was treated as an ex parte order and held to be unsustainable. The denial of notice and hearing was also treated as offending the constitutional guarantees of equality and the right to carry on business.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside for violation of principles of natural justice, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration with opportunity to the petitioner to respond and be heard.

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