Pooja Exports Vs State of Punjab And Anr. (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
Summary: The petitioner, M/s Pooja Exports, challenged the order dated 18.05.2026 (Annexure P-2), restricting the challenge before the High Court to the ground that the order was passed in violation of the principles of natural justice because no opportunity of personal hearing had been afforded before passing the impugned order.
The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that, although the writ petition raised various issues, the challenge was confined to the denial of personal hearing. The learned counsel for the Revenue fairly admitted that no opportunity of personal hearing had been afforded to the petitioner before the impugned order was passed and stated that fresh orders would be passed after affording the petitioner due opportunity of hearing.
The Court referred to Section 75(4) of the GST Act, 2017, which provides that an opportunity of hearing shall be granted where a request is received in writing from the person chargeable with tax or penalty, or where any adverse decision is contemplated against such person.
The Court further noted that a similar issue had arisen before the Division Bench in Kemexel Ecommerce Pvt. Ltd. vs. State of Punjab and others, CWP-33977-2025, decided on 24.03.2026. In that case, the Division Bench had accepted the petition and set aside the adjudication/assessment order, while granting liberty to the Revenue to proceed against the petitioner only after following the provisions of law, including Section 75(4) of the 2017 Act.
