Mandatory personal hearing under GST cannot be bypassed before adverse adjudication, even if no written reply is filed.

Before passing an adverse GST adjudication order, a statutory and effective opportunity of hearing must be granted under Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The absence of any date, time or venue for personal hearing in the notice and reminder, together with the record showing no hearing before the order, rendered the assessment unsustainable. A taxpayer's failure to file a written reply did not dispense with the mandatory hearing requirement, and the order was set aside for breach of natural justice, with liberty to proceed afresh after granting hearing.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication/assessment order could be sustained when no personal hearing was granted despite the statutory mandate under Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Analysis: The show cause notice and reminder disclosed no date, time or venue for personal hearing, and the record showed that no opportunity of hearing was afforded before the adverse adjudication order was passed. Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 requires that an opportunity of hearing be granted where a request is received or where an adverse decision is contemplated. The absence of a written reply did not dispense with that statutory obligation, because the assessee was still entitled to a hearing before an adverse order was made.

Conclusion: The impugned adjudication/assessment order was unsustainable for breach of Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the principles of natural justice, and was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The matter was allowed with liberty to the revenue to proceed afresh in accordance with law after granting the mandatory opportunity of hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: Before passing an adverse GST adjudication order, a statutory and effective opportunity of hearing must be granted, and this requirement is not obviated by the taxpayer's failure to file a written reply.

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