Improper GST notice service on the portal vitiates ex parte assessment and requires fresh adjudication after hearing.

Ex parte GST assessment orders under the Uttar Pradesh GST Act cannot be sustained where notice was uploaded in the wrong portal tab and the taxpayer was denied a meaningful opportunity to object and be heard. The procedural defect in service deprived the assessee of fair participation in adjudication, so the impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh notice, consideration of the reply, and de novo adjudication after due hearing.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte assessment orders passed under Section 73 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, without proper notice on the portal and without affording a personal hearing, could be sustained.

Analysis: The notice had been uploaded in the additional notices and orders tab instead of the notice and order tab on the GST portal, and the adjudication proceeded ex parte. In such circumstances, the petitioner was deprived of a fair opportunity to file objections and to be heard. The matter was treated as covered by the earlier Division Bench decision on the same procedural defect.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded to the assessing authority for issuance of a fresh notice, consideration of the reply, and fresh adjudication after due opportunity of hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: An ex parte GST adjudication passed without proper service of notice through the prescribed portal channel and without affording a meaningful opportunity of hearing cannot be sustained and must be set aside with remand for fresh decision.

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