Personal hearing is mandatory in adverse GST adjudication; order quashed and matter remanded for fresh decision.

The Allahabad HC treated personal hearing as a mandatory component of fair GST adjudication where an adverse order is contemplated. It noted that the assessee was asked to file replies on several dates, but no separate or effective hearing was granted before the Section 73 order. Applying Section 75(4) of the U.P. GST Act, the Court held that the absence of a valid hearing rendered the adjudication unsustainable on merits. The impugned order was quashed, and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication after granting the taxpayer an opportunity of hearing.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order passed under Section 73 of the U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was liable to be quashed for want of a proper opportunity of personal hearing before passing the adverse order.

Analysis: The order records that the petitioner was called upon to file replies to the show cause notice on multiple dates, but no separate or effective opportunity of personal hearing was granted before the adverse adjudication. Reliance was placed on the statutory requirement under Section 75(4) that hearing shall be granted where an adverse decision is contemplated, and the Court treated the requirement of personal hearing as a mandatory facet of fair adjudication under taxing statutes. In the absence of a valid hearing, the adjudicating authority could not sustain the order on merits.

Conclusion: The impugned order was unsustainable and was quashed. The matter was remanded to the assessing authority to pass a fresh order after granting an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

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