M/s INNOVATE DESIGNERS & BUILDERS PVT. LTD. v. ASSISTANT STATE TAX OFFICER, TAX PAYER SERVICE & ORS.

Introduction

This judgment of the Kerala High Court clarifies the scope of Section 75(4) of the CGST Act concerning the right to a personal hearing. The Court held that where a taxpayer voluntarily and expressly waives the opportunity of personal hearing in the prescribed GST DRC-06 forms, the adjudication order cannot subsequently be challenged as void on the ground of violation of natural justice.

The Court observed that a taxpayer who consciously declines a personal hearing cannot later invoke Article 226 of the Constitution by alleging breach of natural justice. Such a challenge does not render the adjudication order non est, and the proper remedy is to avail the statutory appellate mechanism.