Personal Hearing is Mandatory Under Section 75(4): Analysis of Pooja Exports Vs State of Punjab And Anr.
Introduction
The Punjab and Haryana High Court in Pooja Exports Vs State of Punjab And Anr. has once again underscored that an adjudicating authority under the GST regime cannot pass an adverse order without first granting an opportunity of personal hearing, as mandated under Section 75(4) of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
The writ petition in this case was ultimately decided on a narrow but crucial issue: whether the impugned order dated 18.05.2026 could stand when no personal hearing had been afforded to the assessee before its issuance. The Court, relying on its earlier Division Bench ruling in Kemexel Ecommerce Pvt. Ltd. vs. State of Punjab and others, CWP-33977-2025, answered this in the negative and set aside the order, while permitting the Revenue to proceed afresh in accordance with law.
Background of the Petition
Limited challenge before the High Court
The petitioner, M/s Pooja Exports, had initially raised multiple grounds in its writ petition challenging the order dated 18.05.2026 (Annexure P-2). However, at the very outset of the hearing, learned counsel for the petitioner clearly stated that the assessee was pressing the challenge only on one foundational ground:
- The impugned order had been passed in breach of the principles of natural justice,
- Specifically, because no opportunity of personal hearing had been granted prior to passing the order.
Thus, the High Court confined itself to examining whether the absence of a personal hearing, in the face of an adverse order, rendered the adjudication unsustainable.
Revenue’s stand before the Court
Counsel appearing for the Revenue did not contest the factual position on this aspect. In fact, the counsel for the State fairly conceded the following:
- The assessee had not been provided an opportunity of personal hearing before the passing of the impugned order; and
- The department was willing to pass fresh orders after giving due opportunity of hearing to the assessee.
This candid admission significantly shaped the course of the proceedings and supported the Court’s decision to dispose of the writ petition without going into other merits.
Statutory Framework: Section 75(4) of the GST Act, 2017
Text of the provision
The Court placed express reliance on Section 75(4) of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which governs the requirement of providing a personal hearing in GST adjudication proceedings. The provision reads as under:
“Section 75(4) in The Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017:
(4) An opportunity of hearing shall be granted where a request is received in writing from the person chargeable with tax or penalty, or where any adverse decision is contemplated against such person.”
Key implications of Section 75(4)
From the plain language of Section 75(4), two clear scenarios emerge in which a hearing is obligatory:
On written request by the assessee
- Where the person chargeable with tax or penalty submits a written request for a hearing, the adjudicating authority must grant such hearing and cannot dispense with it.
Whenever an adverse decision is contemplated
- Even if the assessee does not submit a written request, a hearing becomes mandatory if the authority intends to pass an order adverse to the assessee’s interest.
- The use of the word “shall” denotes that this is not discretionary but compulsory.