Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Kayum Khan, was issued a Show Cause Notice in GST DRC-01 on 08.05.2025, requiring a reply by 08.06.2025. No reply was filed, and a reminder fixing 10.09.2025 for personal hearing was sent on 27.08.2025; again no reply was submitted. A second reminder dated 14.11.2025 was issued, in response to which the petitioner filed his reply on 28.11.2025 along with documentary evidence. Without fixing any further date for personal hearing, the respondents passed the impugned order-in-original dated 09.12.2025 under Section 73 of the UKGST Act, rejecting the petitioner's explanation and holding him liable to pay tax as per the Show Cause Notice.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether passing the assessment order without fixing a personal hearing date after the petitioner's reply violated Section 75(4) of the UKGST Act, 2017.
  2. Whether the order-in-original required to be quashed and the matter remitted.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • After the petitioner submitted his reply with supporting evidence, no date for personal hearing was ever fixed, and the impugned order was passed straightaway.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Standing Counsel for the State could not dispute the petitioner's contention that no personal hearing date had been fixed after the reply was filed.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court noted that even the impugned order did not reflect that any date for personal hearing was fixed after the petitioner's reply was submitted.
  • It held the impugned order to be in violation of Section 75(4) of the UKGST Act, 2017, which mandates an opportunity of hearing before an adverse order is passed.
  • Accordingly, the order-in-original dated 09.12.2025 was quashed and the matter remitted to the proper officer to pass a fresh order after providing an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

Important Clarification

  • An adjudication order under Section 73 of the GST law is liable to be quashed where the proper officer fails to fix and afford a personal hearing after the assessee has filed a reply, since this is a mandatory requirement under Section 75(4), independent of the merits of the tax demand.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73, UKGST Act, 2017 – determination of tax not paid for reasons other than fraud or wilful misstatement.
  • Section 75(4), UKGST Act, 2017 – mandates an opportunity of personal hearing before passing an adverse order.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the Assessee – the order-in-original was quashed for breach of the mandatory hearing requirement, and the matter remanded for a fresh decision after hearing.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital
Case No.: Writ Petition (M/B) No.495 of 2026
CNR: UKHC010101162026
Coram: Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay
Decision Date: 17-07-2026
Disposal Nature: Allowed; impugned order quashed and remanded

Link to Download the Order

Download the full judgment (PDF)

Disclaimer

This content is shared strictly for general information and knowledge purposes only. Readers should independently verify the information from reliable sources. It is not intended to provide legal, professional, or advisory guidance. The author and the organisation disclaim all liability arising from the use of this content. The material has been prepared with the assistance of AI tools.