Rule 164(2) requires the demanded tax to be credited against the debit entry created by the relevant order. Its second proviso requires Form GST DRC-03A where payment was made through Form GST DRC-03. Failure to file DRC-03A may be procedural rather than fatal where the debited amount was not used for another tax liability. The continued availability of an equivalent amount in the electronic credit ledger until the impugned order requires verification; after verification, post facto filing of DRC-03A may be permitted. Rejection of the waiver application was set aside for fresh determination and a lawful response to the notice.

Assessment proceedings concerning blocked input tax credit, reverse-charge tax and turnover differences required fresh merits consideration where an inadequate opportunity to respond was asserted. Tax liabilities for blocked credit and reverse-charge tax were recorded as paid, while interest remained payable and the turnover-difference demand had been dropped. The assessment order was quashed and remitted for fresh consideration, subject to payment of admitted interest and verification of the required pre-deposit.

GST registration cannot remain rejected solely for non-response to a Form GST REG-03 clarification notice where the applicant is granted a conditional opportunity to respond. The High Court quashed the rejection and remitted the registration application for fresh consideration on merits after hearing the applicant. The applicant must furnish the requested response within 30 days; otherwise, the authorities may proceed in accordance with law.

Section 75(4) requires a personal hearing where a written request is made or where the proposed GST adjudication is adverse. This obligation operates independently of whether the assessee requested or opted for a hearing. Consequently, an adverse adjudication under Section 74 imposing tax, interest and penalty without affording an opportunity of hearing is invalid, even where no personal hearing was sought.

GST assessment orders and DRC-7 must remain within the tax proposal in the show cause notice and must account for tax payments already appropriated. Where a determination exceeds the notice or omits acknowledged payments, fresh proceedings require a proper fresh notice and accurate payment adjustment. Discontinuance of business is an express ground for GST registration cancellation. Outstanding tax dues do not alone justify refusing cancellation because statutory recovery powers continue after cancellation. Cancellation applications must therefore be considered independently of pending tax recovery.

Verification of e-way bill authenticity is necessary before sustaining a Form GST MOV-09 penalty where the bill lacks the vehicle number. Although the displayed generation time made the claimed technical glitch implausible, the system-generated bill required examination to determine whether it was fabricated or genuine. The proper officer must make a fresh determination of its authenticity and validity before imposing the penalty.

Alleged non-service of an adjudication order was considered in relation to access to the statutory appellate remedy after expiry of limitation. A prior deposit of 25% of disputed tax exceeded the appellate pre-deposit requirement, while knowledge of the order was claimed only when recovery proceedings commenced after the business changed location. An appeal was permitted within 30 days and was to be considered on merits without applying limitation.

GST appellate rejection as time-barred was set aside and the matter remitted for merits adjudication. Restoration depended on the existing 10% pre-deposit, the appellant's government-enterprise status, payment of a further 15% pre-deposit, and submission of a detailed reply to the show-cause notice. Fresh consideration must proceed without objection based on statutory limitation once those requirements are met. No final determination was made on the allegation of excess input tax credit.

Principles of natural justice warranted limited reconsideration of an ex parte tax demand confirmed after no reply to the show-cause notice was filed. The High Court directed fresh adjudication on merits after hearing the taxpayer, conditional on filing a reply within the stipulated period and making the required pre-deposit of disputed tax. The conditional relief preserved participation in adjudication despite the absence of grounds to otherwise challenge the demand or pursue appellate relief.

GST demand challenges requiring factual substantiation of fuelwood and charcoal exemption claims should proceed before the statutory appellate authority. The confirmed demand's partial recovery and need to clarify reliance on Form GSTR-8A require appellate examination. Liberty was granted to file a statutory appeal within 30 days; the appeal is to be decided without reference to limitation.

Anticipatory bail was denied in alleged GST-fraud proceedings because the allegations concerned fraudulent GST transactions causing substantial loss to the public exchequer. The seriousness of the alleged economic offence, coupled with the applicant's involvement in multiple similar criminal matters, weighed against granting pre-arrest protection. These combined factors negated eligibility for anticipatory bail.

GST registration was cancelled because the taxpayer also held another registration as a tax deductor or tax collector at source. The High Court quashed the cancellation and remitted the matter for fresh consideration on merits. Any alternate registration held solely for tax deduction or collection at source may be cancelled instead, preserving consideration of the taxpayer's regular GST registration under the applicable legal requirements.

Personal hearing under Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is mandatory before an adverse order is passed. The provision establishes two independent grounds for a hearing: where the person chargeable with tax or penalty requests one, or where the proper officer proposes an adverse decision. The officer's obligation to provide an effective hearing in the latter circumstance applies irrespective of whether the taxable person requested a hearing or filed a reply to the show-cause notice.

Ex parte assessment for tax period 2019-20 was restored for fresh determination because it had been confirmed without a response to the show-cause notice. Fresh adjudication is conditional on the taxpayer depositing 50% of the outstanding IGST and cess and filing a reply to the notice. The specified tax payments already claimed formed part of the taxpayer's submission supporting reconsideration.

GST appellate jurisdiction requires appeals from adjudication orders of Central proper officers to be heard by the competent appellate authority under the Central GST regime. A State Appellate Authority cannot acquire jurisdiction merely because such an appeal is presented before it; deciding it breaches jurisdictional propriety and consistency in the GST framework. Accordingly, an order issued by the State Appellate Authority on a Central adjudication appeal is to be quashed, with the appeal remitted for fresh determination by the competent Central Appellate Authority according to law.

Bail pending trial for alleged CGST offences requires assessment of whether continued custody is necessary to secure the accused's attendance and protect the justice process. Pre-conviction detention is not punitive; the presumption of innocence, personal liberty and the right to a speedy trial weigh against continued detention where investigation is complete, the complaint is filed and evidence is documentary. Bail was granted because the accused had no criminal antecedents and no material indicated absconding, witness intimidation, evidence tampering, repeat offending or subversion of justice, while trial completion was unlikely within a reasonable period.

Section 74 of the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 permits extended-limitation action for wrongful availment or utilisation of input tax credit only where fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts to evade tax is specifically established. A show-cause notice must disclose the foundational facts, identify the precise conduct alleged, and correlate that conduct with a categorical statutory charge. Mechanical or alternative recitals of fraud, wilful misstatement, and suppression, without explaining the attributed conduct and its basis, do not validly invoke Section 74. The notice was therefore set aside.

Uploading a show-cause notice only under the portal's 'Additional Notice and Orders' tab, without separate intimation, may deny the noticee an effective opportunity to respond. Such denial breaches the principles of natural justice where the affected party cannot access or answer the notice. The resulting adjudication is vitiated and requires fresh determination after the petitioners are afforded a hearing.

Meaningful opportunity to respond to a show-cause notice requires that the personal hearing be scheduled after expiry of the permitted time for filing a reply. Fixing the hearing before that deadline denies the assessee an effective opportunity of hearing and breaches principles of natural justice. The assessment and appellate orders were quashed, and the proceedings were directed to recommence from the show-cause-notice stage after allowing a reply and a proper personal hearing.

Appeals filed beyond the ordinary limitation period but within the statutory condonable period require consideration of any explanation for delay. Where medical circumstances are asserted as preventing a response to a notice, the explanation should be assessed unless shown to be ungenuine. Fair opportunity to establish sufficient cause and a hearing before the appellate authority are necessary before rejecting the delayed appeal. Rejection without considering the condonation request cannot be sustained.