Fair notice in GST proceedings requires effective intimation, and portal upload alone was held insufficient here.

Fair notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond are required under the Bihar GST framework; mere uploading of show cause and subsequent notices on the portal, without effective intimation, was held insufficient in the circumstances. The appellate order and the tax determination were therefore set aside, and the taxpayer was directed to file a reply within six weeks, after which the authority was to proceed afresh in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the appellate order and the order of determination of tax were liable to be set aside for want of proper opportunity of hearing and fair communication of notices under the Bihar Goods and Services Tax law.

Analysis: The petitioner's appeal had been rejected on limitation, but the challenge was founded on the absence of a fair opportunity to respond to the show cause notice and subsequent notices, which had been uploaded on the portal without effective intimation. The Court accepted that fair procedure requires reasonable notice to the taxpayer and that mere portal-uploading, without more, could not be treated as adequate in the circumstances. On that basis, the orders impugned were found vulnerable to interference.

Conclusion: The impugned appellate order and the order of tax determination were set aside, and the petitioner was directed to file a reply within six weeks, after which the authority was to proceed afresh in accordance with law.

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