Personal hearing before adverse GST orders is mandatory where a reply is filed; denial vitiated the order.

An order under the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was challenged on the ground that no personal hearing was afforded after the reply to the show cause notice was filed. The authority had fixed a hearing date, but the reply was submitted later and before the adverse order was passed. The text states that Section 75(4) requires an opportunity of hearing before an adverse order, and that failure to grant it deprived the taxpayer of an opportunity to explain the deficiency. The impugned order was quashed and the matter remanded for a fresh decision after giving personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether an order passed under Section 73 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 could be sustained when no opportunity of personal hearing was afforded after the reply to the show cause notice was filed.

Analysis: The notice under Section 73 had fixed a date for personal hearing, but the reply was filed after that date and before the impugned order was passed. The authority had sufficient time thereafter to offer a hearing, yet the adverse order was made without doing so. In the circumstances, the denial of personal hearing was contrary to the statutory requirement reflected in Section 75(4), which mandates an opportunity of hearing before an adverse order is passed. The petitioner was thereby deprived of an to substantiate its stand against the deficiency noticed by the authority.

Conclusion: The impugned order could not be sustained and was quashed. The matter was remanded to the authority to grant personal hearing and pass a fresh order in accordance with law.

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