Personal hearing under GST is mandatory before adverse adjudication; orders passed without it were set aside and remanded.

An adverse GST adjudication passed without affording the taxpayer a personal hearing was held inconsistent with Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the principles of natural justice. The court treated the hearing requirement as a mandatory procedural safeguard before adverse action and found its absence to be a statutory breach. The adjudication order and the appellate order were therefore set aside, and the matter was left open to be reconsidered afresh in accordance with law after compliance with Section 75(4).

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order and the appellate order were liable to be set aside for want of opportunity of personal hearing in terms of Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the principles of natural justice.

Analysis: The petitioner was not afforded any personal hearing before the adverse adjudication order was passed. The statutory requirement under Section 75(4) mandates an opportunity of hearing before adverse action is taken, and the absence of such hearing amounted to a breach of natural justice and of the statutory procedure.

Conclusion: The adjudication order and the appellate order were set aside. The matter was permitted to be proceeded with afresh in accordance with law and after complying with Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

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