Mandatory opportunity of hearing under GST proceedings cannot be bypassed; orders passed without compliance were quashed and remanded.

An assessment order and appellate order under the GST provisions were found unsustainable because no effective opportunity of hearing was afforded before finalisation. Section 75(4) requires a mandatory hearing, and the impugned orders disclosed prima facie non-compliance with that requirement. On that basis, the orders were quashed for breach of natural justice and the matter was remanded to the assessing authority for fresh adjudication after hearing the taxpayer.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessment order passed under Section 74 and the appellate order deserved interference for want of a proper opportunity of hearing under Section 75(4).

Analysis: The impugned orders were found to prima facie disclose no effective opportunity of hearing. Since an opportunity of hearing is mandatory under Section 75(4), and the issue was covered by the cited precedent, the orders could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The assessment order and the appellate order were quashed for breach of the mandatory hearing requirement.

Final Conclusion: The matter was remanded to the assessing authority for a fresh decision after affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute mandates an opportunity of hearing before finalisation of proceedings, an order passed without compliance is unsustainable and liable to be quashed and remanded for fresh adjudication.

---