M/S Manas Continental vs. State Of U.P. And Another
Held
The Court held that the impugned order dated 05.04.2022 was passed without affording the petitioner an opportunity of personal hearing, which is a violation of the principles of natural justice. The Court noted that the impugned order itself did not mention any date for hearing. While the revenue argued that the petitioner had not filed a reply to the show cause notice, the Court found that the lack of a personal hearing was a critical procedural defect. Consequently, the Court set aside the impugned order. The Court directed the petitioner to file their reply to the show cause notice within two weeks from the date of the order and appear before Respondent No. 2 on 06.11.2023. The authority was directed to hear the petitioner on that date and pass an appropriate order strictly in accordance with law, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case. The issue of the merits of the tax demand was expressly left undecided.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s Manas Continental, filed a writ petition before the Allahabad High Court challenging an order dated 05.04.2022 passed under Section 74(9) of the CGST Act, 2017. The petitioner's grievance was that the impugned order was passed without affording them an opportunity of hearing and without mentioning any date for a personal hearing. The petitioner sought to have the order quashed and a fresh order passed after providing an opportunity to be heard. The revenue contended that despite the lack of a personal hearing, the petitioner had failed to file a reply to the show cause notice, and therefore, the order should not be quashed.
Key Issues
1. Whether the impugned order dated 05.04.2022, passed under Section 74(9) of the CGST Act, 2017, is liable to be quashed for want of an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner? The petitioner argued that the impugned order was passed in violation of principles of natural justice as no opportunity of hearing was provided. They contended that the purpose of the petition would be served if the order was quashed and a fresh order was passed after granting them a hearing. The revenue argued that the petitioner's failure to file a reply to the show cause notice, even in the absence of a personal hearing, disentitled them from seeking the quashing of the order. The revenue did not rely on any specific circulars or precedents.
Sections Cited
Section 74(9)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:191369-DB Chief Justice's Court Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 1009 of 2023 Petitioner :- M/S Manas Continental Respondent :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Petitioner :- Aditya Pandey Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Pritinker Diwaker,Chief Justice Hon'ble Ashutosh Srivastava,J.
Grievance of the petitioner is that the impugned order dated 05.04.2022 under Section 74 (09) of CGST Act, 2017 has been passed, without affording any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner and even without mentioning the date of granting personal hearing.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that purpose of filing this petition would be served if order impugned is quashed with a direction to the authority concerned to pass fresh order after giving opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
Learned counsel appearing for the revenue submits that even if the opportunity of personal hearing has not been given to the petitioner, he could have filed reply to the show cause notice, which he has not done, therefore, the order impugned may not be quashed. A bare perusal of the impugned order reflects that no date was mentioned for hearing and the petitioner was not a
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Reproduced from the public record of the Allahabad High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.