Service of show cause notice and personal hearing rights breached, leading to partial allowance of petition and orders set aside

The note addresses failure of physical service of a show cause notice and of an effective notice for personal hearing, concluding such non-service breaches principles of natural justice and procedural fairness; this resulted in the impugned orders being partly set aside and the petition allowed. It observes that the SCN summarised undeclared tax liabilities but was not physically delivered, and that the rectification route was time-barred, with the position reinforced by reliance on prior precedent. The operative effect is that absence of proper service and hearing notice invalidated the consequential orders.

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Issues: Whether the impugned Show Cause Notice and consequential order which were uploaded on the portal but not physically served, and where no effective personal hearing notice was given, violated principles of natural justice requiring quashing/remand and a direction to grant opportunity of hearing.

Analysis: The Court examined the factual record and found that the Show Cause Notice was not physically served on the petitioner and no effective notice for personal hearing was physically communicated, though the notice was uploaded on the portal. The Court considered relevant precedents addressing whether uploading on the portal suffices as service and whether failure to grant a personal opportunity to be heard amounts to breach of principles of natural justice. Applying those principles, the Court held that absence of effective service and absence of personal hearing notice deprived the petitioner of the chance to submit a response; accordingly the matter calls for restoration of the opportunity to be heard and a reasoned reconsideration by the authority.

Conclusion: The petition is partly allowed in favour of the assessee; the petitioner is permitted to file a reply within four weeks, the authority shall grant a personal hearing within two weeks thereafter and pass a reasoned order; the impugned orders are set aside to the extent they were passed without affording the opportunity to be heard and in violation of principles of natural justice.

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