SCN Reply Deadline Should be Fixed Before Personal Hearing Date: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has recently clarified that scheduling a hearing date before the reply deadline is bad in law.

The case relates to a company named M.K. Square, which received an invalid show cause notice. The date of the personal hearing was fixed for 6th October 2023, but the date for filing the reply to the notice was fixed much later, on 25th October 2023.

Observing that the date of personal hearing was fixed 18 days prior to the date of filing the reply, the court held that such a show cause notice is bad in law and the relevant proceedings initiated are also invalid. As a result, both the show cause notice and the order were quashed and set aside.

The court directed the tax authority to pass a new show-cause notice to the petitioner as per the law.