Mandatory personal hearing under GST leads to setting aside of adverse assessment order and remand for fresh consideration.

An adverse GST assessment order was held unsustainable because the reply to the show cause notice was not considered and no personal hearing was granted. Section 75(4) of the CGST Act requires a personal hearing before passing an adverse order, and the failure to provide that opportunity also breached natural justice. The impugned order was therefore set aside, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration after receiving the assessee's reply and issuing notice of personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order was liable to be set aside for want of consideration of the reply and denial of personal hearing, and whether the matter required remand for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The writ petition challenged the impugned order on the ground that the reply to the show cause notice was not considered and no personal hearing was afforded before passing the adverse order. The Court noted that when an adverse order is proposed against an assessee, Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 mandates an opportunity of personal hearing. As no such opportunity was given, the impugned order was found to be contrary to the statutory requirement and violative of the principles of natural justice.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the respondent for fresh consideration after receiving the petitioner's reply and granting a notice of personal hearing.

Final Conclusion: The assessee obtained a remand for reconsideration on merits with an opportunity of hearing, and the adverse order ceased to operate.

Ratio Decidendi: An adverse GST order passed without affording the assessee the mandatory opportunity of personal hearing under Section 75(4) and without considering the reply is unsustainable and must be set aside with remand for fresh decision.

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