Harphool Chowdhury @ Harphool Choudhary Vs State of West Bengal & anr. (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court considered a writ petition challenging an order dated 14th December, 2023 passed under Section 73 of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017 for the tax period of July 2017 to March 2018. The petitioner challenged the order principally on the ground that, although the show-cause notice issued in Form GST DRC 01 dated 31st August, 2023 contemplated an adverse order, the petitioner was not afforded an opportunity of hearing. The petitioner contended that the order was consequently vitiated for non-compliance with Section 75(4) of the said Act.
It was also submitted that the petitioner could not identify the order in time to prefer a statutory appeal. Attention was drawn to a notice dated 27th July, 2026 issued in Form GST DRC 13 and a notice dated 14th August, 2026, with the submission that the bank account had been attached and the entire demand on account of tax had already been realized. The State respondents and the bank were represented. The Court found that the statutory scheme provides an opportunity of hearing where an adverse decision is contemplated and noted that, in the instant case, it was undisputed that no opportunity of hearing had been afforded despite the show-cause notice itself contemplating an adverse order.
