HC held that the SCN issued under Section 73 of CGST Act was...

HC held that the SCN issued under Section 73 of CGST Act was procedurally deficient as it failed to adequately address the assessee's reply to the final audit report regarding GSTR-9 and GSTR-1 mismatch. The Court emphasized that a valid SCN must specifically detail the authority's prima facie findings and reasoning for rejecting the assessee's explanations. Since the adjudicating authority merely acknowledged but did not analyze the assessee's submissions, the notice was deemed vague and prejudicial to the assessee's right of defense. Matter remanded for issuance of fresh SCN with proper reasoning addressing the assessee's October 21, 2024 reply and supporting documentation.