Legal representative liability under GST remains subject to personal hearing and a reasoned order before adverse action.

Section 93 of the CGST Act recognises the liability of a deceased assessee's legal representative out of the estate where the business has discontinued on death, but that liability remains subject to the procedural safeguards in Section 75(4) and Section 75(6). An adverse decision requires an opportunity of personal hearing, and the proper officer must record the relevant facts and the basis of the decision in a reasoned order. The petition was disposed of in terms of the earlier precedent, while the challenge to the statutory provisions was not pressed and was kept open for appropriate proceedings.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessment proceedings and demand raised against the legal representatives of a deceased assessee could be sustained without compliance with the requirement of personal hearing and a reasoned order, and whether the writ petition should be disposed of in terms of the earlier precedent.

Analysis: Section 93 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 recognises liability of the legal representative out of the estate of the deceased where the business is discontinued on death. That liability, however, remains subject to the procedural safeguards in Section 75(4) and Section 75(6) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which require an opportunity of hearing where an adverse decision is contemplated and obligate the proper officer to set out the relevant facts and basis of the decision. In the present matter, the respondents did not oppose disposal on the same terms as the cited precedent.

Conclusion: The petition was disposed of in terms of the earlier decision, with the challenge to the statutory provisions not pressed and kept open for appropriate proceedings.

---