Facts of the Case

M/s Ram Sewak Gupta challenged an adjudication order dated 27.02.2024 passed for tax period 2018-19, before the Allahabad High Court. The petitioner's grievance was twofold: the order was not communicated in time, causing delay, and the show cause notice dated 05.12.2023 had only indicated the date by which a reply could be submitted, without disclosing any date for personal hearing, so the petitioner could not participate in the proceedings and only learnt of the order after it was passed.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether an adjudication order passed without fixing a date for personal hearing in the underlying show cause notice, and without timely communication of the order itself, can be sustained.
  2. Whether the availability of a statutory appeal remedy should bar interference despite these procedural defects.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The order dated 27.02.2024 was not duly communicated in time, causing the petitioner to lose the opportunity of filing a timely appeal; further, the underlying notice never disclosed a personal hearing date, only a reply deadline, leaving the petitioner unable to participate.
  • Given the limited power to condone delay under the GST regime, non-communication of the order had effectively caused the petitioner to lose its statutory remedy of appeal.

Respondent's Arguments

  • There was considerable delay in filing the writ petition, and in any case the statutory remedy of appeal was available and ought to be availed of instead of invoking writ jurisdiction.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Bench held that while ordinarily no interference is warranted on merits given the available statutory remedy, the specific defects pointed out — non-communication of the adjudication order and non-fixation of a personal hearing date, coupled with the absence of any further notice on when the order would be passed — did prejudice the petitioner.
  • The impugned order dated 27.02.2024 was set aside subject to the petitioner depositing Rs. 30,000 towards the disputed demand within one month, with liberty to file a reply within the same period, following which the Adjudication Authority must fix and communicate a personal hearing date through the regular mode and pass a final order on or before 31.03.2026.
  • The amount deposited was made subject to the outcome of the final order to follow.

Important Clarification

  • Non-fixation of a personal hearing date in the show cause notice, combined with delayed or defective communication of the resulting order, is treated as sufficient procedural prejudice to justify setting aside an otherwise appealable GST order, even where the statutory remedy technically remains available.
  • Such relief is typically conditioned on a partial deposit and a strict, court-fixed timeline for the fresh hearing and final order, balancing the assessee's right to be heard against the revenue's interest in finality.

Sections Involved

  • Section 75(4), CGST Act, 2017 – mandates grant of a personal hearing where requested or where an adverse decision is contemplated, the core defect identified here.
  • Section 107, CGST Act, 2017 – governs the statutory appeal and its limitation period, effectively lost due to delayed communication.

Decision – In Favour of

The writ petition was disposed of in favour of the assessee to the extent of a conditional remand, with the impugned order set aside subject to a partial deposit and a fresh, time-bound hearing.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. Case No.: Writ Tax No. 5132 of 2025. Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Indrajeet Shukla. Date of Order: 7th October, 2025.

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