Gauhati High Court Quashes GST Recovery Notice Over Lack of Prior Hearing

The Gauhati High Court held in favour of the taxpayer by setting aside the impugned recovery notice and sent the case back to the GST authorities for a fresh start, citing a contravention of the principles of natural justice.

The petitioner, Indra Konwar, had raised a key argument that during the personal hearing, he was not issued any intimation of any nature prior to the issuance of the impugned recovery notice dated December 22, 2025. Hence, he only became aware of the tax proceedings on receipt of the recovery notice.

However, the tax authorities claimed the petitioner was indeed served with the final order earlier by registered post; however, they were not sure if the order was successfully delivered. Later, the petitioner had also obtained a copy of the order through a Right to Information (RTI) application.

When the court heard both sides, it noted that the petitioner was not granted a proper opportunity of hearing before taking the final action, which is an explicit violation of the principles of natural justice. The court highlighted that giving a fair chance to reply is a key aspect of legal procedure.

Considering the aforementioned findings, the court quashed the impugned recovery notice dated December 22, 2025, and an earlier issued order dated February 01, 2023, and remanded the case back to the tax authorities for fresh consideration.