Allahabad HC Upholds Natural Justice: GST Orders Quashed Due to Lack of Fair Hearing

The current writ petition (Writ Tax No. 580 of 2025) has been filed by a company named M/s Tahir Construction, based in Lucknow, in the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, before Hon’ble Justice Pankaj Bhatia. M/S Tahir Construction Lucknow Thru. Proprietor Tarik Ameer is the legal petitioner in this case, and the State of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Tax And Registration U.P. Lko. And 2 Others are the respondents.

Why Was The Case Filed?

The petitioner, i.e., M/s Tahir Construction, was dissatisfied with two orders:

• First order dated 28.04.2024, which was passed under Section 73 of the GST Act. This section deals with tax demands raised when the tax was not paid or short paid without any fraud or misrepresentation.
• Second order dated 23.09.2024, where their appeal was rejected because it was filed after the time limit had expired.

What Was the Main Complaint?

The company argued that before passing the final GST order under Section 73, they were not awarded a chance to be heard. The passed order is an ex parte order, as it was released without listening to their side or accepting their reply.

What Did the Government Lawyer Say?

• The learned Standing Counsel for the State did not agree with this claim.
• He agreed that the same date was given for both filing the objections and for the personal hearing, which means there was no real opportunity to be heard.

What the High Court Noted

The judge noted that a similar situation had already been addressed in an earlier case:

• Case Name: Mahaveer Trading Company vs. Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, and Another
• Case No.: Writ Tax No. 303 of 2024
• Decision Date: 04.03.2024

In that case, too, the court had said that not giving a fair hearing chance before passing a GST order is wrong and against natural justice.

High Court Final Decision:

• The High Court followed the same decision taken in the Mahaveer Trading Company’s case.
• The High Court allowed the writ petition, meaning the court took the final decision in favour of the petitioner.
• The High Court has quashed both orders dated 28.04.2024 and 23.09.2024.
• The case is now sent back to the assessing officer (AO), and they are being asked to properly hear the side of the company and then issue the final and fresh order.