Facts of the Case

M/S Agarwal Sales, through its proprietor Aditya Agarwal, challenged an order dated 23.07.2024 passed under Section 74 of the U.P. GST Act, 2017, and the appellate order dated 04.10.2025 dismissing its appeal as time-barred. The petitioner's specific grievance was that no genuine opportunity of personal hearing had been granted, since the date fixed for personal hearing and the date fixed for filing the reply to the show-cause notice were one and the same — making a meaningful hearing an impossibility. Reliance was placed on the Division Bench ruling in Mahaveer Trading Company vs. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax and Anr. (2024:AHC:38820-DB).

Issues Involved

  1. Whether fixing the date of personal hearing identical to the date fixed for filing reply amounts to denial of a genuine opportunity of hearing under Section 75(4).
  2. Whether such a defect, established on the record, warrants quashing of both the Section 74 order and the limitation-barred appellate dismissal.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • No opportunity of hearing was granted while passing the order under Section 74, since the date of the notice and the date of personal hearing were the same.
  • The issue was already settled by the Division Bench in Mahaveer Trading Company, which laid down that the date of reply must precede the date of personal hearing.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Learned Standing Counsel, on the basis of instructions, confirmed that the date of personal hearing and the date of filing of reply were indeed the same.

Court Order / Findings

  • Reiterating the Mahaveer Trading Company ruling — that the date of reply to a show-cause notice must definitely precede the date of personal hearing, and that the Commissioner's Office Memo No. 1406 dated 12.11.2024 had itself flagged this precise defect as impermissible — the Court held the dictum squarely applicable.
  • The orders dated 23.07.2024 and 04.10.2025 were accordingly quashed.
  • The matter was remanded to the assessing authority to pass a fresh order after giving the petitioner a genuine opportunity of hearing.

Important Clarification

  • Fixing an identical date for filing reply to a show-cause notice and for personal hearing renders the hearing illusory and violates Section 75(4) of the GST Act; the reply date must necessarily precede the hearing date so the adjudicating authority can consider the reply before hearing the assessee.
  • The Commissioner, Commercial Tax, U.P.'s Office Memo No. 1406 dated 12.11.2024, which corrected this and related systemic defects, is binding on field formations and enforced by the Courts.

Sections Involved

  • Section 74, UP GST Act, 2017 — determination of tax involving fraud or suppression.
  • Section 75(4), UP GST Act, 2017 — mandatory opportunity of personal hearing.

Decision – In Favour of

Assessee. Both impugned orders quashed and matter remanded for fresh adjudication after a genuine hearing.

Case Details

High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench; Writ Tax No. 1199 of 2025; Coram: Hon'ble Jaspreet Singh, J.; Order dated 28.10.2025.

Link to Download the Order

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