In Writ Tax No. 1010 of 2023 -ALL HC- Allahabad High Court upholds right of taxpayers to be heard before adverse orders are passed
Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker & Justice Ashutosh Srivastava [25-08-2023]

Read Order: M/s Dana Pani v. State of U.P. and Another

Chahat Varma

New Delhi, September 19, 2023: The Allahabad High Court has set aside a GST assessment order against M/S Dana Pani (petitioner), holding that the assessing authority was required to afford the petitioner an opportunity of hearing before passing an adverse order, even though the petitioner had not specifically requested for a hearing.

The primary contention of the petitioner, in the present case was that, the only notice issued in the proceedings was on 06.04.2021, seeking their reply within 30 days. The petitioner pointed out that in the table attached to that notice, the Assessing Authority had already decided not to provide any opportunity for a hearing to the petitioner. This was indicated by marking ‘NA’ in the columns for ‘Date of personal hearing’, ‘Time of personal hearing’ and ‘Venue where personal hearing will be held’. Therefore, the petitioner's objection, was that they were completely denied the opportunity for an oral hearing before the Assessing Authority.

The division bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ashutosh Srivastava emphasized that, in the context of an assessment order that imposes a significant civil liability, providing even a minimal opportunity for a hearing is essential. The principle of natural justice mandates that authorities must consistently ensure that such an opportunity is genuinely granted.

Accordingly, the present writ petition was allowed and the matter was remitted to the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, to issue a fresh notice to the petitioner.