Natural justice in GST cancellation: portal-only notice was insufficient, and the adverse adjudication order was set aside.

An adjudication order cancelling GST registration was held unsustainable where notices were issued only through the portal after the registration had already been cancelled and not revived, and the revenue could not show effective physical or offline service. The Court held that, in those circumstances, the assessee was not expected to access e-mode notices, and the absence of a meaningful opportunity to reply and to be personally heard amounted to a breach of natural justice. The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh decision after allowing a reply and granting a personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order cancelling GST registration and deciding the matter without effective service of notices and without affording a proper opportunity of reply and personal hearing was sustainable.

Analysis: The registration under the UPGST regime had already been cancelled and had not been revived. In those circumstances, the petitioner was not expected to access the GST portal for e-mode notices, and the revenue did not show that any physical or offline notice had been served before passing the impugned order. The failure to secure effective notice and hearing meant that the essential requirement of natural justice remained unfulfilled. The Court also found no purpose in keeping the petition pending or in relegating the petitioner to an alternate remedy.

Conclusion: The impugned adjudication order was set aside and the matter was sent back for a fresh decision after permitting the petitioner to file a reply and after granting a personal hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: Where GST registration stands cancelled and notices are issued only through the portal without effective service by other means, an adverse adjudication order passed without a meaningful opportunity of reply and hearing violates natural justice and cannot be sustained.

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