TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (9) TMI 626
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....an Appeal came to be filed before the Appellate Authority. The Petitioner did not remain present and therefore in view of the following discussion and conclusion which is reproduced hereinbelow, the Appeal was rejected. Discussion and Conclusion : On bare perusal of the facts involved in the case it is seen that, despite issuing hearing notices on three occasions and giving substantial time, appellant failed to appear and substantiate his grounds of appeal. Non-attendance and negligence on the part of appellant shows that he is not interested in pursing his appeal. In view of the above, I am constrained to conclude that, no purpose will be served by keeping the present appeal pending and giving appellant any furth....
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....lty or fine in lieu of confiscation or confiscating goods of greater value or reducing the amount of refund or input tax credit shall not be passed unless the appellant has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the proposed order: Provided further that where the Appellate Authority is of the opinion that any tax has not been paid or short-paid or erroneously refunded, or where input tax credit has been wrongly availed or utilised, no order requiring the appellant to pay such tax or input tax credit shall be passed unless the appellant is given notice to show cause against the proposed order and the order is passed within the time limit specified under Section 73 or Section 74. Section 107 (12): The o....
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....urt after referring to Section 35-C of Central Excise Act, 1944 as well as Rule 20 of the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1982, held that the Tribunal did not have any power to dismiss the appeal in default or for want of prosecution in case, appellant was not present/not represented when appeal is taken up for hearing. Section 107(11) of CGST Act is indeed analogous with Section 35-C of Central Excise Act. Section 35-C and Section 107(11) of CGST Act read as under:- 35-C. Orders of Appellate Tribunal.- Section 107. Appeals to Appellate Authority- (1) The Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confi....
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....se (supra) held that Appellate Authority is statutorily obliged to dispose of an appeal on merits as this is the specific mandate under Section 107 CGST Act Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in M/s Parle Biscuits Pvt. Ltd. Rudrapur, Uttrakhand vs. State of Haryana and others, 2024-VIL-1330-P&H, Neutral Citation: 2024: PHHC: 158627-DB, has also held that it is binding upon Appellate Authority to have examined the case on merits rather than dismiss it for non-prosecution. 7. A bare reading of Section 107 makes it apparent that Appellate Authority is enjoined upon, after making such further inquiry as may be necessary, to pass an order as it may think just and proper, either confirming, modifying or annulling the decision or order appea....
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....It is now settled law that failure to issue a speaking order in response to a show-cause notice creates a legal vacuum. Any consequential action including imposition of tax or penalty, would then be unsupported by authority of law, thereby potentially violating Article 265 of the Constitution of India, which prohibits the levy or collection of tax except by authority of law. 6. We are in respectful agreement with the view taken by their Lordships in Arval India Private Ltd. vs. Union of India and Others (supra). By the impugned order, the Appeal was dismissed for non prosecution in view of the absence of the Petitioner, when the provision required the Appeal to be decided on merits in accordance with law. Moreover, the impugned order is ....