Mandatory prior show cause notice under GST section 73 cannot be replaced by a DRC-01 summary or attachment.

A proper prior show cause notice under section 73(1) of the Assam GST Act is a condition precedent to valid adjudication; a FORM GST DRC-01 summary and an attachment to determination of tax do not substitute that statutory notice. Rule 142(1)(a) requires the summary to accompany the notice, but the summary is not the notice itself. Where the mandatory notice procedure is not followed before an order under section 73(9), the adjudication is unsustainable; the authority may proceed afresh in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether a summary of show cause notice in FORM GST DRC-01 and an attachment to determination of tax under section 73(3) of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 can substitute the prior show cause notice required under section 73(1), and whether an order passed under section 73(9) without such notice is sustainable.

Analysis: Section 73 contemplates a structured sequence: service of a proper show cause notice under sub-section (1), issuance of a statement under sub-section (3) where applicable, representation by the noticee, and then adjudication under sub-section (9). Rule 142(1)(a) of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 only requires a summary of the notice to accompany the statutory notice; the summary is not the notice itself. The Court treated the issuance of a proper and prior show cause notice as a condition precedent for setting the machinery under section 73 in motion. Since only the summary and the attachment to determination of tax were issued, and no proper prior notice under section 73(1) was served, the impugned adjudication did not comply with the mandatory procedure and could not stand.

Conclusion: The impugned order was unsustainable and was set aside and quashed.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded on the ground of non-compliance with the mandatory pre-adjudication notice procedure under section 73 of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, while leaving liberty to the authorities to proceed afresh in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A summary in GST DRC-01 and an attachment to determination of tax do not substitute the mandatory prior show cause notice under section 73(1); compliance with the statutory notice procedure is a condition precedent to a valid order under section 73(9).

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