M/S Bhawani Castings PVT. LTD. vs. State Of Punjab And Others
Held
The Court held that the petitioner was entitled to an opportunity of hearing as mandated by Section 75(4) of the Central GST Act, 2017. The reasoning was based on the petitioner's written request for a personal hearing after receiving the show cause notices. The Court found that this opportunity was not granted. The ratio decidendi is that a statutory right to a personal hearing, as provided under Section 75(4), must be respected by the revenue authorities. Consequently, the orders dated 05.06.2023 (Annexures P-9 and P-10) were set aside. The Court directed the respondents to grant an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner on the show cause notices dated 03.02.2023 (Annexures P-5 and P-6) and then pass a fresh order in accordance with the law. The issue of challenging the vires of Section 16(2)(c) was expressly left open.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s. Bhawani Castings Pvt. Ltd., is seeking to quash or read down Section 16(2)(c) of the Central GST Act/Punjab GST Act, 2017. The petitioner received show cause notices dated 03.02.2023. In response, the petitioner filed a reply on 04.03.2023 and also opted for a personal hearing. However, the petitioner alleges that this personal hearing was not granted. The State of Punjab and others are the respondents. The petitioner relies on previous High Court decisions in similar circumstances where personal hearings were granted.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioner was denied an opportunity of personal hearing despite requesting it, in contravention of Section 75(4) of the Central GST Act/Punjab GST Act, 2017? The petitioner argued that Section 75(4) mandates an opportunity of hearing when a written request is received before passing an adverse order, especially after a show cause notice under Section 74. They contended that despite opting for a personal hearing, it was not provided, citing previous judgments in M/s. Naresh Aggarwal Agencies Pvt. Ltd. vs. The State of Punjab and another, and M/s. Raghunandan Iron & Steel Company vs. State of Punjab and another, where similar petitions were disposed of by granting hearings. The revenue, represented by the Senior Deputy Advocate General, Punjab, was unable to dispute the provisions of Section 75(4) of the Central GST Act, 2017.
Sections Cited
Section 16(2)(c), Section 75(4), Section 74
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
2023:PHHC:091496-DB 111 HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP-15288-2023 Date of decision: 20.07.2023 M/s. Bhawani Castings Pvt. Ltd. ....Petitioner V/s. State of Punjab and others ....Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE RITU BAHRI HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE MANISHA BATRA Present: Mr. Sandeep Goyal, Advocate, Mr. Rishab Singla, Advocate and Mr. Nitish Bansal, Advocate and Ms. Aakriti, Advocate for the petitioner. **** Ritu Bahri, J. (Oral).
The petitioner is seeking quashing/reading down the provisions of Section 16(2)(c) of the Central GST Act/Punjab GST Act, 2017. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner refers to Section 75(4) of the Punjab GST Act, 2017/Central GST Act, 2017 which provides that an opportunity of hearing has to be granted where request is received in writing from a person chargeable with tax or penalty before passing any adverse order in proceedings when show cause notice under Section 74 is given.
In the present case, after receiving show cause notices dated 03.02.2023 (Annexure P-5 and P-6), the petitioner gave reply on 04.03.2023 (Annexure P-7) and he clicked on the option for personal hearing (at page No. 112 of the paperbook) which was not
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