Notice Listing Hearing Date as “N.A.” Vitiates Section 73 Order: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court quashed a GST demand and the appellate order because the show cause notice and both reminders recorded the date, time and venue of personal hearing only as “N.A.”.

The Allahabad High Court has held that a show cause notice (SCN) under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 that records the date, time and venue of personal hearing as “N.A.” denies the taxpayer a hearing and vitiates the resulting order [Digital Universe v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors., 2026-juristway.com-3381-HC(Allahabad)-GST].

Justice Vikas Budhwar decided the petition on the record with the consent of both sides. The SCN dated 23 Feb 2023 concerned July 2017 to March 2018 and fixed 25 Mar 2023 for a reply, but showed “N.A.” against the hearing columns. Reminders dated 6 Jun 2023 and 29 Aug 2023 set fresh reply dates and again showed “N.A.” for the hearing. An order under Section 73 followed on 1 Sep 2023. The appeal filed on 2 Feb 2024 was rejected on 14 Feb 2024 on the ground of delay.

The petitioner argued that an assessee is entitled to be heard in person, that the denial of a hearing breached the principles of natural justice, and that the appeal had been rejected by a non‑speaking order. The State replied that the petitioner could have appeared on its own and asked for a hearing, and that the appeal was late.

The Court framed the question as whether the failure to afford a personal hearing vitiated the orders, and answered that the answer “is simple, ‘Yes’”. Once the notice showed the hearing details as “N.A.”, the Court said, a date, time and venue still had to be fixed to enable the assessee to put forward his case.

It held that the entry “N.A.” against the hearing column “itself vitiates the order as it is a clear‑cut classic case of violation of principles of natural justice”. The plea that the taxpayer could have sought a hearing on its own did not cure the defect.

The Court quashed the order dated 1 Sep 2023 and the appellate order dated 14 Feb 2024, and remitted the matter to the original authority to pass a fresh order.

2026-juristway.com-3381-HC(Allahabad)-GST