GST waiver eligibility must be tested on the correct assessment basis, not an erroneous Section 74 assumption.

A waiver application under the Tamil Nadu GST Act cannot be rejected on an erroneous premise that the underlying assessment was made under Section 74 when the record showed a Section 73 assessment. The authority must decide waiver eligibility on the correct statutory basis, after considering the taxpayer's representation and relevant payments. The rejection order was therefore unsustainable, quashed, and the matter remitted for fresh consideration after hearing the applicant.

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Issues: Whether the rejection of the petitioner's waiver application under Section 128A(1) of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was sustainable when the underlying assessment order had been passed under Section 73 of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Analysis: The impugned order rejected the waiver application on the footing that the assessment was under Section 74, though the assessment order on record showed that it had in fact been passed under Section 73. The rejection therefore proceeded on an incorrect factual and legal premise. In view of that error, the petitioner's eligibility for consideration of the waiver application required fresh examination after considering the representation and the relevant payments relied upon by the parties.

Conclusion: The rejection order was unsustainable and was quashed, with the matter remitted for fresh consideration after hearing the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: A waiver application cannot be rejected on an erroneous assumption about the statutory basis of the underlying assessment order, and where eligibility depends on whether the order was passed under Section 73 or Section 74, the authority must decide that issue on the correct record after hearing the applicant.

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