Principle Mahendra Private Limited Vs DCIT (Karnataka High Court)
In Principle Mahendra Private Limited Vs DCIT, the Karnataka High Court set aside a GST order dated 13.04.2023 due to the lack of a personal hearing as required under Section 75(4) of the CGST Act. The petitioner challenged the order, arguing that their reply was rejected for being filed late and that they were not afforded a hearing. The court noted that despite the late reply, the petitioner had explicitly requested a personal hearing, which was ignored by the authorities. The court emphasized that the mandate under Section 75(4) requires such a request to be considered, and failing to do so constituted a procedural violation. Consequently, the impugned order was set aside, and the case was remanded to the authorities for a fresh hearing, allowing the petitioner to present their arguments and additional legal contentions. The petitioner was also directed to pay Rs. 10,000 in costs for the delayed reply. The court instructed the petitioner to appear before the respondent on 9.6.2023, failing which the authorities could proceed as if no order had been passed.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KARNATAKA HIGH COURT
1. The petitioner has called in question the correctness of the order passed on 13.4.2023 under Sections 73(9), 50 & 122(2) of the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Act (KGST) / Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST) / Section 20 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (IGST) read with Rule 142(5) and (6) of the KGST Rules, 2017 for the Tax Period 2017-18 (July 2017-March 2018) passed in the case of the petitioner by the first respondent (Annexure-A).
