Kemexel Ecommerce Pvt. Ltd. Vs State of Punjab And Others (Punjab And Haryana High Court)
Summary: The Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the writ petition filed by KEMEXEL ECOMMERCE PVT. LTD. challenging the adjudication/assessment order dated 23.08.2024 on the ground that no opportunity of personal hearing was granted before passing the adverse order. The Court held that Section 75(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 creates a statutory obligation to provide an opportunity of hearing where an adverse decision is contemplated, irrespective of whether the assessee has submitted a written response.
The petitioner was a company having its registered office in Gurugram and was also registered with the GST authorities in Punjab. A show cause notice concerning FY 2019-20 was issued under Section 73 of the 2017 Act. Although the notice allowed the petitioner to respond in writing, no date, time or venue for personal hearing was specified. The petitioner did not submit a written response.
A reminder dated 01.08.2024 was subsequently issued. The reminder again contained “not applicable” against the columns relating to the date, time and venue of personal hearing. The petitioner did not file a written response even thereafter. The respondent authorities then passed the adjudication/assessment order dated 23.08.2024 requiring payment of the tax demanded.
