Statutory show cause notice under GST cannot be replaced by a DRC-01 summary; order passed without prior notice is invalid.

A summary in Form GST DRC-01 cannot substitute the statutory show cause notice required to initiate proceedings under Section 73 of the Assam GST Act. The proper officer must first serve a valid prior notice, and compliance with the hearing requirement under Section 75(4) is a condition precedent to a lawful order under Section 73(9). Because the mandatory pre-condition of prior notice was not met, the impugned order was unsustainable and was set aside.

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Issues: Whether an order passed under Section 73 of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is sustainable when no proper and prior show cause notice is issued and only a summary in Form GST DRC-01 with an attachment of determination of tax is served.

Analysis: Section 73 requires a proper officer to serve a show cause notice before proceeding to determination under the provision. The statutory summary in Form GST DRC-01 is only a summary and cannot substitute the notice contemplated by Section 73(1). The attachment showing determination of tax corresponds to the later stage under Section 73(3) and does not dispense with the mandatory prior notice. Compliance with the notice procedure and the hearing requirement under Section 75(4) is a condition precedent to a valid order under Section 73(9).

Conclusion: The impugned order was unsustainable and was set aside because the mandatory pre-condition of a proper prior show cause notice was not satisfied.

Ratio Decidendi: A summary notice in Form GST DRC-01 cannot replace the statutory show cause notice required to initiate proceedings under Section 73, and an order passed without that mandatory notice is invalid.

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