Natural justice in GST adjudication requires effective service of notice before adverse order where registration remains cancelled.

Where a GST registration had already been cancelled and not revived, the assessee was not bound to check the portal for electronic notices. As no physical or offline notice was shown to have been issued or served before the adjudication order, the court held that the requirement of natural justice was not met. The adjudication was therefore set aside, and the matter was remitted for fresh decision by treating the impugned order as notice, with an to file a reply and be heard personally.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order was liable to be set aside for want of service of notice and non-compliance with natural justice, and whether the petitioner could be relegated to alternative remedy.

Analysis: The registration under the UPGST regime had already been cancelled and had not been revived. In that situation, it was found that the petitioner was not bound to access the GST portal for e-mode notices. No physical or offline notice had been shown to have been issued or served before the impugned order. In these peculiar facts, keeping the writ petition pending or directing the petitioner to an alternative remedy was found unnecessary, as the essential requirement of natural justice had not been satisfied.

Conclusion: The order dated 29.04.2024 was set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh adjudication after treating the impugned order as notice, permitting a reply and personal hearing. The relief was thus granted in favour of the petitioner.

Final Conclusion: The impugned adjudication was annulled for breach of natural justice, and the matter was sent back for fresh decision after hearing the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: Where registration stood cancelled and no effective physical notice was served, an adjudication based only on portal communication could not stand if it deprived the noticee of a real opportunity of hearing.

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