Procedural fairness in GST adjudication led to setting aside demand orders and remand for fresh consideration.

GST adjudication and appellate orders may be set aside where a meaningful opportunity to respond is not effectively afforded before finalising tax, interest, and penalty. The assessee had not replied to the show-cause notice, but the failure to contest was treated as attributable to bona fide reasons and sufficient cause. Applying a justice-oriented approach, the court interfered with the demand and remitted the matter for reconsideration from the stage of reply to the show-cause notice, with liberty to file replies and documents and for fresh adjudication in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order and the appellate order under the GST law were liable to be set aside for want of adequate opportunity, and whether the matter deserved remand for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The material showed that the assessee had not replied to the show-cause notice and the adjudication proceeded to confirm tax, interest, and penalty, followed by dismissal of the statutory appeal. The Court accepted the assertion that the failure to respond and contest the proceedings was attributable to bona fide reasons and sufficient cause. In view of the need to afford a fair opportunity before finalising the demand, a justice-oriented approach was adopted and the impugned orders were interfered with.

Conclusion: The impugned adjudication and appellate orders were set aside and the matter was remitted for reconsideration from the stage of reply to the show-cause notice.

Final Conclusion: The assessee secured reopening of the GST proceedings for fresh adjudication, with liberty to file replies and documents and for the authority to decide the matter afresh in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a tax demand is confirmed without affording a meaningful opportunity to respond, the resulting order may be set aside and the matter remitted for fresh adjudication to secure procedural fairness.

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