GST assessment remanded after prior tax payment in GSTR-9 was not considered before adjudication.

A GST assessment under Section 73 was interfered with because the authority did not consider the taxpayer's earlier payment reflected in GSTR-9. Although no substantive reply had been filed and no effective hearing was attended, the prior tax payment was treated as a relevant factor requiring fresh consideration. The assessment order was quashed and the matter remanded for fresh adjudication on merits, subject to filing a detailed reply and making the directed partial deposit within the stipulated time.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order passed under the GST enactments required interference and remand for fresh consideration in view of the petitioner's prior tax payment and the failure to consider the same.

Analysis: The impugned order was passed under Section 73 after a notice in Form DRC-01, but the petitioner had sought time and had also made a prior payment towards CGST and SGST in GSTR-9, which was not taken into account. The petitioner had not filed a substantive reply or appeared for hearing, yet the omission to consider the admitted prior payment warranted a limited interference. The matter was therefore remitted for fresh consideration, with directions to file a detailed reply and make a partial deposit within the stipulated time.

Conclusion: The assessment order was quashed and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication on merits, subject to compliance with the directed conditions.

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