Natural justice and prior hearing under GST law led to setting aside the adjudication order and remand for fresh decision.

The adjudication order was set aside because the record did not satisfactorily show compliance with Section 75(4) of the CGST Act, which requires a prior opportunity of hearing before an adverse decision. The court treated violation of natural justice as an exception to the ordinary rule of exhausting alternate remedies, and found that the personal hearing record did not clearly establish that the petitioner was heard on the adverse findings ultimately recorded. The matter was remanded to the authority for a fresh decision in accordance with law, and the writ petition was allowed in part.

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Issues: Whether the impugned adjudication order was liable to be set aside for want of compliance with the statutory requirement of opportunity of hearing under Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and whether the petitioner should be relegated to the appellate remedy.

Analysis: The writ petition was entertained on the footing that violation of natural justice is an exception to the ordinary rule of exhaustion of alternative remedy. On a reading of the impugned order, the record of personal hearing did not clearly establish that the petitioner was heard with reference to the adverse findings ultimately recorded, and the order did not satisfactorily disclose compliance with the requirement of prior opportunity before passing an adverse decision.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside for violation of Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and the matter was remanded to the concerned authority for fresh decision in accordance with law. The writ petition was allowed in part.

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