Rafiqul Hasan Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
In Rafiqul Hasan Vs State of West Bengal & Ors., the Calcutta High Court considered a challenge arising from GST adjudication proceedings for the financial year 2018-2019. The petitioner had been served with a show-cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 on 19 December 2023. The notice required a reply by 19 January 2024 and fixed personal hearing for 11 January 2024.
Although the petitioner admittedly did not file the written reply by 19 January 2024, his representative appeared on 11 January 2024 and placed the petitioner’s case before the authorities. The petitioner subsequently filed his reply on 9 March 2024 and sent it by Speed Post to the respondents on 11 March 2024. The adjudication order under Section 73 was passed on 20 March 2024.
The petitioner challenged the adjudication order in appeal on 3 December 2024. The appellate authority rejected the appeal by order dated 27 January 2025. Before the High Court, the petitioner relied upon Section 75(4) of the CGST Act and contended that an opportunity of personal hearing was required before an adverse order could be passed.
The respondents opposed the petitioner’s contention. Their counsel submitted that there was no occasion to provide another personal hearing because a hearing had already taken place on 11 January 2024, when, according to the respondents, the petitioner had refused to provide any further written objection to the show-cause notice. The respondents also contended that the petitioner had an alternative remedy before the Tribunal against the appellate order and therefore the writ petition was not maintainable.
