Prior show cause notice under GST demand procedure is mandatory; summary in DRC-01 cannot replace it.

A Section 73 demand order under the Assam GST Act is not sustainable where no proper prior show cause notice is issued and the taxpayer is served only with Form GST DRC-01 and an attachment styled as determination of tax. The statutory sequence under Section 73 treats the notice, the statement under Section 73(3), the order under Section 73(9), and the prescribed summaries as distinct procedural steps, and prior notice is a condition precedent to valid action. The impugned order was held unsustainable, quashed, and the authorities were left free to proceed afresh in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether an order under Section 73 of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is sustainable when no prior show cause notice is issued and the taxpayer is served only with a summary of the show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 and an attachment styled as determination of tax.

Analysis: The order was challenged on the footing that proceedings under Section 73 had been initiated without a proper prior notice under sub-section (1), and that the summary in Form GST DRC-01 together with the attachment to determination of tax could not take the place of the statutory show cause notice. The Court noted the earlier common judgment holding that a summary of show cause notice is not a substitute for the notice required under Section 73(1), and that the statement under Section 73(3), the order under Section 73(9), and the summaries in DRC forms are all distinct statutory steps to be taken by the proper officer. Compliance with the statutory sequence and the requirement of prior notice were treated as conditions precedent to a valid order under Section 73.

Conclusion: The absence of a proper prior show cause notice rendered the impugned order unsustainable in law. The writ petition was allowed and the order was set aside and quashed, with liberty to the authorities to proceed afresh in accordance with law.

Final Conclusion: Proceedings under Section 73 cannot be sustained on the basis of a summary notice alone where the statute requires a prior show cause notice issued by the proper officer.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory demand order under Section 73 is invalid unless the mandatory prior show cause notice and the prescribed procedural steps are strictly complied with by the proper officer.

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