📰 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: Violation of Natural Justice in GST Case

📢 The Allahabad High Court quashed orders passed under Section 74 of the U.P. GST Act, ruling that the petitioner was denied a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations, which is a violation of natural justice.

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Lari Almira House vs State of Uttar Pradesh 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: Writ Tax No. 1569 & 1570 of 2022 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 12-Apr-2023

𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲: The petitioner challenged the original order dated 24.01.2022, alleging that it was passed ex-parte based solely on a report by the Special Investigation Branch (SIB), which was not provided to the petitioner. Additionally, the appeal against the original order was dismissed as being beyond the prescribed limitation period.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: The petitioner argued that they were not given the opportunity to respond to the SIB report, which violated their right to a fair hearing under Section 75(4) of the U.P. GST Act. The appeal dismissal was also contested, but the appellate authority rejected the appeal on the ground of limitation.

⚖ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The High Court quashed the original order, holding that the department’s failure to provide the petitioner with a copy of the SIB report violated the principles of natural justice. However, the appellate authority’s dismissal of the appeal on the ground of limitation was upheld, with the court finding no error in the decision.

📜 This ruling reinforces the importance of following due process and upholding the right to a fair hearing under the GST law, while maintaining strict adherence to procedural timelines. Team GSTpanacea 7503031378