Facts of the Case

M/S Pappu Traders, Pratapgarh Road, Rai Bareilly, challenged an order dated 01.12.2021 passed under Section 74 of the GST Act, and the subsequent appellate order dated 03.09.2024 dismissing its appeal as time-barred. The petitioner's grievance was that no opportunity of hearing was granted, since the show-cause notice itself indicated "NA" in the column meant for fixing the date of personal hearing, rendering the order violative of Section 75(4) of the GST Act. The identical issue had already been decided by the same High Court in Writ Tax No. 303 of 2024, Mahaveer Trading Company vs. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax and Another, dated 04.03.2024.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a show-cause notice that marks the personal-hearing-date column as "NA" amounts to a violation of Section 75(4)'s mandatory hearing requirement.
  2. Whether such a defect vitiates both the original Section 74 order and the appellate order rejecting the appeal on limitation.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The show-cause notice's column for personal hearing date was marked "NA," meaning no hearing date was ever fixed, directly violating Section 75(4).
  • The identical defect had already been accepted by the same Court in Mahaveer Trading Company vs. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax.
  • Both the Section 74 order and the time-barred appellate rejection deserved to be quashed on this sole ground.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Learned Standing Counsel appeared for the State, but the order records no substantive rebuttal of the factual position regarding the "NA" entry in the notice.

Court Order / Findings

  • Following its own precedent in Mahaveer Trading Company vs. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax on an identical defect, the Court held the sole ground sufficient to allow the petition.
  • Both the original order dated 01.12.2021 and the appellate order dated 03.09.2024 were quashed.
  • The matter was remanded to the assessing authority to pass a fresh order in accordance with law after giving the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.

Important Clarification

  • Marking the personal-hearing-date column as "NA" in a GST show-cause notice is treated as a clear violation of Section 75(4), independently sufficient to vitiate the demand order.
  • This applies whether the notice is issued under Section 73 or the fraud-based Section 74 — the defect is now well-settled through repeated application of the Mahaveer Trading Company ratio by the Allahabad High Court.

Sections Involved

  • Section 74, CGST Act, 2017 — determination of tax not paid by reason of fraud or wilful misstatement, under which the original order was passed.
  • Section 75(4), CGST Act, 2017 — mandates an opportunity of personal hearing before an adverse order.
  • Section 107, CGST Act, 2017 — limitation for filing an appeal, relevant to the appellate order that was also quashed.

Decision – In Favour of

The decision is in favour of the assessee. Both the Section 74 demand order and the appellate rejection were quashed, with the matter remanded for fresh adjudication after a proper hearing.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench
Case No.: Writ Tax No. 564 of 2025; Neutral Citation 2025:AHC-LKO:34076
Coram: Hon'ble Justice Pankaj Bhatia
Date of Order: 30.5.2025

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