TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (3) TMI 832
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....artment of the Government of Assam. 2. Before dealing with the issue involved, the brief facts of the case may be put in a nutshell. 3. The petitioner was issued a Summary of Show Cause dated 24.09.2025 in GST DRC-01 for the tax period from April, 2021 - March, 2022 along with an attachment as regards the determination of tax. It is the case of the petitioner that as there was no proper Show Cause Notice attached to the Summary of the Show Cause Notice dated 24.09.2025 in the portal, the petitioner did not submit any reply. Subsequent thereto, an order was passed on 26.11.2025 in GST DRC-07. 4. Shri Mishra, the learning counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that it is the requirement in terms of Rule 142 of the Ce....
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....a and Others, (WA No.172/2024) dated 10.04.2024 wherein after dealing with the scope and ambit of Section 75 (4) of the Central Act, it was observed that when the statute contains a mandate of hearing which is a requirement of natural justice, it cannot be given a go by. He has therefore submitted that in the instant cases as the impugned orders have been passed without giving a proper opportunity of hearing as mandated under Section 75 (4) of both the Central Act as well as the State Act, the impugned orders are liable to be interfered with. 6. Per contra, Shri Chowdhury, the learned Standing Counsel, Finance and Taxation Department of the Government of Assam submitted that the respondent authorities have issued the Summary of the Show ....
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....hed. The respondents claim that the attached document which includes the tax determination, constitutes the SCN. The core issue is whether such an attachment qualifies as a valid SCN under the Central and State GST Acts and their respective Rules. Notably, all the SCN summaries were issued under Section 74. Section 74 would show that the said provision is set into motion when it appears to the Proper Officer that:- (a) Any tax has not been paid; or (b) Any tax short paid; or (c) Any tax erroneously refunded; or (d) Where input tax credit had been wrongly availed or utilized, by reason of fraud or any willful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax. 10. Considering that it is only in the circu....
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....n 123 or section 124 or section 125 or section 127 or section 129 or section 130, a summary thereof electronically in FORM GST DRC01, (b) statement under sub-section (3) of section 73 or sub-section (3) of section 74, a summary thereof electronically in FORM GST DRC-02, specifying therein the details of the amount payable." 12. From a perusal of the above quoted Rule, it would show that in addition to the Show Cause Notice to be issued under Section 74 (1) and the Statement of determination of tax under Section 74 (3), there is an additional requirement of issuance of a Summary of the Show Cause Notice in GST DRC-01 and the Summary of the Statement in GST DRC-02. The natural corollary from the above analysis is that the issuance....
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.... impugned orders under Section 74 (9) conform to Section 75(4) of the State Act and is according to the principles of natural justice, the Court observed that the Summary of the Show Cause Notice did not mention any date of hearing, leaving the relevant column blank. The petitioner was merely asked to submit a reply, without being offered a cleared opportunity for personal hearing. 18. Section 75(4) of both the Central and State GST Acts mandates that an opportunity of hearing must be granted when a written request is made by the person chargeable with tax or penalty, or when any adverse decision is contemplated against such person. This provision serves as a safeguard for assessees, ensuring procedural fairness. 19. The Division Benc....
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.... formal and duly authenticated SCN is mandatorily required to initiate proceedings under Section 74. The Statement of tax determination under Section 74 (3), which is attached to the summary in the present case cannot be treated as a valid SCN. Therefore, initiating proceedings solely based on such a statement is not in conformity with law. 23. This Court has also noted that the impugned order contravenes Section 75(4) of the Act which mandates that a reasonable opportunity of hearing must be provided either when an adverse decision is contemplated or when a written request is made by the assessee. In the present case, although the DRC-01 summary specifies the date for filing a reply, it leaves the field regarding the date and time of pe....