Sri Muniappa Steels Vs Assistant Commissioner (Madras High Court)
GST: Assessment order passed without supplying the third party evidence relied on: Set aside by the Madras HC on grounds of violation of principles of natural justice.
An assessment order passed under the GST laws, based on a statement given by a third party dealer for which the assessee has no access is totally unsustainable before law since it is passed in gross violation of the principles of natural justice, is the ratio laid down by the Hon’ble High Court of Madras in Sri Muniappa Steels Vs. The Assistant Commissioner (ST) Singanallur North Circle, Coimbatore (No.- W.P. No.10489 of 2019 And WMP No.11086 of 2019 dated: 27.04.2021)
Facts of the case
- The Assessing Officer has issued a notice in terms of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (TNGST Act, 2017) dated: 14.12.2020 to the petitioner. This notice has reference of a notice dated: 29.05.2020 which indicates certain discrepancies in the invoices accompanied by e-way bills. In the show cause notice, the Assessing Officer alleges that the supplier (a third party dealer as far as the petitioner is concerned) had admitted in his statement recorded by the Central GST Authorities, stating that they had neither received any inward nor engaged in outward supply.
- The officer thus proposes to arrive at a conclusion that the transaction was not genuine and the petitioner was engaging in bill trading. In response, the petitioner has filed a reply on 23.12.2020 specifically requiring a copy of the statement relied upon by the Assessing Officer for the proposed assessment, reserving his right to cross examine the dealer as well as to file objections to the same. The impugned order has come to be passed without hearing the petitioner and admittedly, without supplying the statement relied upon by the Officer.
Held by the High Court
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