Effective hearing in GST adjudication is mandatory; ex parte assessment set aside for defective notice and remitted for fresh consideration.

An ex parte GST assessment under Section 73 cannot be sustained where service is assumed only through portal communication and the taxpayer is not given an effective opportunity of hearing. The procedural lapse and lack of compliance with the prescribed notice process were treated as sufficient to vitiate the adjudication. The impugned assessment was set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh consideration after granting reasonable opportunity to participate in the proceedings.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte assessment order passed under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, without effective opportunity of hearing and due compliance with the prescribed notice procedure, was liable to be quashed and the matter remitted for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The order was founded on assumed service through electronic communication on the GST portal, but the Court found that, in the facts of the case, fairness required an effective opportunity to participate in the proceedings. The procedural lapse and denial of a reasonable hearing were treated as sufficient to vitiate the impugned order.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted to the Adjudicating Authority for reconsideration afresh after granting reasonable opportunity to the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: An adjudication under the GST regime cannot be sustained where it is passed ex parte without affording an effective opportunity of hearing and compliance with the prescribed notice procedure; such an order is liable to be quashed and remitted for fresh consideration.

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