Singh Traders Vs State of Bihar (Patna High Court)
Patna High Court, in a recent judgment regarding the case of Singh Traders Vs State of Bihar, has set aside an assessment order demanding Goods and Services Tax (GST), interest, and penalty from Singh Traders. The court’s decision, delivered on [Date of Judgment – if not specified, remove or state ‘a recent judgment’], primarily rests on the violation of Section 75(4) of the Goods and Services Tax Act, which mandates the provision of a personal hearing before adverse assessment orders are issued.
Singh Traders had filed a writ application challenging a show cause notice dated December 19, 2023, and a subsequent assessment order dated April 29, 2024. The total demand amounted to approximately Rs. 4,35,684 under both the Central GST (CGST) and Bihar GST (BGST) Acts for the period of April 2018 to March 2019. The petitioner’s primary contention was that the assessment order was passed without granting a personal hearing, thereby violating principles of natural justice. Additionally, Singh Traders argued that both the show cause notice and the final order were time-barred under Section 73 of the CGST/BGST Act, 2017. The petitioner also questioned the validity of Notification No. 56/2023 CT dated December 28, 2023, which extended the time limit under Section 73(2) and (10) of the CGST Act, asserting that such extensions under Section 168A require specific circumstances and GST Council recommendations, which they claimed were absent.
