HC Quashes SCN As Only Summary of SCN Was Issued & No Date of Hearing Was Given to Assessee

Case Details: Alok Steel Industries - [2024] 158 taxmann.com 604

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Rongon Mukhopadhyay & Deepak Roshan, JJ.
  • Sumeet Gadodia, Shilpi Sandil Gadodia & Ranjeet Kushwaha, Advs. for the Appellant.
  • Aditya Kumar Pandey for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner was engaged in the business of manufacturing Sponge Iron and M.S. Billet and was duly registered under the GST laws. For the period 2018-19, the petitioner was issued a Notice in Form GST ASMT-10, pointing out certain discrepancies in the return filed by it in GSTR-3B as compared to GSTR-2A. After the issuance of the said notice, the petitioner was issued a Summary of Show Cause Notice dated 27-09-2019 for wrongful availment of ITC.

Although no date for compliance with the said notice was intimated to the Petitioner, the petitioner filed its reply to the said notice. However, no proceeding and/or hearing whatsoever was undertaken by the authority. In the month of September 2023, for the first time, Petitioner was communicated Summary of the Order in Form GST DRC-07, which was uploaded in the GSTN Portal of the Petitioner and the Petitioner was imposed tax, interest and penalty for the alleged wrongful availment of ITC. Aggrieved by the order, the petitioner filed a writ petition before the Jharkhand High Court contending that no opportunity of hearing was granted to him before the issuance of the order.

High Court Held

The High Court held that no opportunity of hearing was granted to the Petitioner before the impugned demand was raised upon the Petitioner. In view of the authoritative pronouncements of the Court, the Court quashed and set aside the Summary of Show Cause Notice and consequently set aside the adjudication order and the Summary of the Order.