N C Paul And Co vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, N. C. Paul & Co., filed a writ petition challenging an order passed under Section 73(9) of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, dated February 18, 2025. The petitioner contended that they were not given an opportunity of hearing before the order was passed. Furthermore, the demand raised in the impugned order allegedly went beyond the scope of the show cause notice, constituting an infraction of Section 75(7) of the Act. The State, represented by Mr. Sanyal, conceded that the petitioner had not been afforded an opportunity of hearing and was not in a position to improve upon the facts presented by the petitioner.
Held
The Court held that the impugned order, passed under Section 73(9) of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, could not be sustained. This was primarily because the petitioner had not been afforded an opportunity of hearing, which is a fundamental principle of natural justice. The Court also noted the petitioner's contention that the demand raised in the order went beyond the scope of the show cause notice, which is an infraction of Section 75(7) of the Act. The State conceded that the petitioner had not been given a hearing. Consequently, the Court set aside the impugned order. The matter was remanded back to the proper officer for adjudication on merits, with a specific direction to provide an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner and to decide strictly in accordance with law.
Key Issues
1. Whether the order passed under Section 73(9) of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, is liable to be set aside for violation of the principles of natural justice, specifically the right to an opportunity of hearing, as contended by the petitioner. 2. Whether the demand raised in the impugned order, which allegedly exceeds the scope of the show cause notice, is invalid under Section 75(7) of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, as argued by the petitioner. The petitioner argued that the order was unsustainable due to the lack of a proper hearing and the demand exceeding the show cause notice. The State, on instruction, admitted that the petitioner had not been afforded an opportunity of hearing and could not improve upon the facts presented by the petitioner.
Sections Cited
Section 73(9), Section 75(7)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
8 17.07.2025 sb
Ct.
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURI ICTION APPELLATE SIDE N. C. Paul & Co. Versus The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Abhratosh Majumdar, Sr. Advocate
Mr. Sayan Sinha
Mr. K. Ray
… For the petitioner
Mr. T. M. Siddiqui
Mr. Tanoy Chakraborty
Mr. Saptak Sanyal
… For the State.
Ms. Kanika Gupta
… For Union of India.
Challenging the order passed under Section 73(9) of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the “said Act”) dated 18th February, 2025, the instant writ petition has been filed.
Having heard the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties since, it appears that the petitioner has not been given an opportunity of hearing and further the order impugned has been passed and the demand has been raised beyond the scope of the show cause notice which is also an infraction within the meaning of Section 75(7) of the said Act and since, Mr. Sanyal, learned advocate representing the State respondent, today, on instruction, would submit that he is not in a position to improve the facts and that in this case the petitioner had not been afforded with an opportunity of hearing, I am of the view that the above order cannot be sustained and the same is accordingly set aside.
The matter is, however, remanded back to the proper officer to adjudicate the same on merits.
The proper officer shall upon providing an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner decide on the show cause strictly in accordance with law.
With the above observations and directions the writ petition is disposed of.
Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance of requisite formalities.
(Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.)
Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.