Mandatory personal hearing under GST law must precede adverse assessment orders; prior notice does not cure the procedural breach.

Section 75(4) of the Tamil Nadu GST Act requires a personal hearing before an adverse assessment order is passed where a hearing is requested or the authority proposes to proceed adversely. A prior reply on record and earlier show-cause proceedings do not cure the failure to grant that hearing after the reply is received. The assessment order was therefore quashed, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration with a direction to afford a reasonable opportunity, including personal hearing, before any new order is made.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order was liable to be quashed for failure to afford a personal hearing under Section 75(4) of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 before passing an adverse order.

Analysis: The petitioner's reply to the proceedings was on record and was referred to in the impugned order, but no personal hearing was afforded after receipt of that reply. Section 75(4) makes a personal hearing mandatory where requested or where an adverse order is proposed to be passed. The existence of earlier intimation and show cause proceedings did not cure the breach of this mandatory requirement.

Conclusion: The assessment order was quashed and the matter was remanded for reconsideration with a direction to afford a reasonable opportunity, including personal hearing, before passing a fresh order.

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