Natural justice breach in GST adjudication leads to remand for fresh hearing and reconsideration of objections.

Orders passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act and the consequential DRC-07 summary were found vulnerable where the assessee was not given a proper hearing and its reply on merits was not considered. The denial of an effective opportunity to file objections and supporting documents was treated as a breach of natural justice, so the orders were set aside and the matter remanded for fresh adjudication. The authority was directed to issue clear notice and grant a personal hearing before passing a fresh order, subject to the assessee paying 10% of the disputed tax and filing objections and documents within time.

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Issues: Whether the orders passed under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the consequential summary in Form GST DRC-07 were liable to be set aside for violation of natural justice and the matter remitted for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The impugned orders were passed without affording the assessee a proper hearing and without considering a reply on merits. In these circumstances, the denial of an effective opportunity to submit objections and supporting documents amounted to breach of the principles of natural justice. The appropriate course was to set aside the orders and remit the matter for reconsideration, while directing the assessee to pay 10% of the disputed tax within the stipulated time and thereafter file objections and documents. The authority was directed to issue clear notice and a personal hearing before passing a fresh order in accordance with law.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication, subject to payment of 10% of the disputed tax and compliance with the directions for filing objections and documents.

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