Facts of the Case

The petitioner, M/S Ram Kishore Manish Kumar, through its proprietor Sunil Kumar Agrahari, challenged an order dated 25.04.2024 passed under Section 73 of the U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and a further order dated 08.09.2025 dismissing its appeal as beyond limitation. Though the petitioner had appeared and submitted replies to show cause notices on three separate dates, no further notice or opportunity of personal hearing was ever granted before the adjudicating authority proceeded to pass a merit order on the third reply.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether denial of personal hearing under Section 75(4) vitiated the Section 73 order despite the petitioner having filed written replies on three occasions.
  2. Whether the appellate dismissal for limitation could survive independently of the underlying procedural defect.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • No opportunity of hearing was granted while passing the order under Section 73, despite replies having been filed on three separate dates in response to the show cause notice.
  • The issue was directly covered by the Division Bench ruling in Mahaveer Trading Company vs. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax and Anr. (2024:AHC:38820-DB), which held such denial of hearing unacceptable.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel, on instructions, conceded that no date was fixed for personal hearing.

Court Order / Findings

  • Reiterating Mahaveer Trading Company, the Court held it "strange and wholly unacceptable" that revenue authorities were failing to observe the mandatory requirement under Section 75(4) to grant a hearing where an adverse decision is contemplated, merely because the substantive law had changed.
  • The Court noted that the State's own Commissioner, Commercial Tax, had issued Office Memo No.1406 dated 12.11.2024 acknowledging systemic anomalies across field formations — hearing columns marked "N.A.", hearing dates fixed before the reply due-date, and order dates not matching the hearing date — and directing correction of the practice.
  • Applying this dictum, the Court quashed both the order dated 25.04.2024 and the appellate order dated 08.09.2025, allowed the petition, and remanded the matter to the assessing authority to pass a fresh order after giving an opportunity of hearing.

Important Clarification

  • Filing written replies to a show cause notice on multiple occasions does not substitute for the mandatory opportunity of personal hearing under Section 75(4) of the GST Act where an adverse order is contemplated; the adjudicating authority must still fix and communicate a hearing date before passing a merit order.
  • The Commissioner, Commercial Tax, U.P.'s own Office Memo No.1406 dated 12.11.2024, flagging the practice of leaving hearing-date columns blank or sequencing hearing dates incorrectly, is now treated by courts as an acknowledged systemic defect that independently supports quashing such orders.

Sections Involved

  • Section 75(4) of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — mandates an opportunity of hearing where a request is received in writing or where an adverse decision is contemplated.
  • Section 73 of the GST Act, 2017 — determination of tax not paid or short paid, or ITC wrongly availed, for reasons other than fraud.

Decision – In Favour of

Allowed in favour of the Assessee; both the assessment and appellate orders were quashed and the matter remanded for fresh adjudication after a genuine personal hearing.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench
Case No.: Writ Tax No. 1499 of 2025
Coram: Hon'ble Jaspreet Singh, J.
Date of Order: 8th December, 2025

Link to Download the Order

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