Allahabad HC Directed Assessee to Treat Cancellation Order As SCN Since There Were Procedural Defects & Remanded Matter

Case Details: Vimal Kumar v. Union of India - [2023] 157 taxmann.com 372 (Allahabad)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Saumitra Dayal Singh & Shiv Shanker Prasad, JJ.
  • Vimal Kumar & Praveen Kumar, Counsel for the Petitioner.
  • A.S.G.I., Gaurav Mahajan, Counsel for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In the present case, the assessee received show cause notice seeking to cancel registration. Thereafter, no proceeding was conducted over a long period of nine months and without any further notice, an order was passed & assessee’s registration was cancelled retrospectively. It filed writ petition against such cancellation and contended that notice and order were non-speaking.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that there were fundamental defects in procedure adopted by revenue authorities, including a non-speaking show cause notice, grant of real opportunity of hearing and failure to communicate a fresh date for hearing over a period of nine months.

The Court also noted that the bar of statutory alternative remedy of appeal to be waived in the peculiar facts of the present case. Thus, the Court directed the assessee to treat impugned order to be show cause notice and file reply thereto and subject to such compliance, the department might fix a proper date for hearing and pass a reasoned and speaking order.