18th Dec., 2025 High Court at Calcutta Item no.D/L 44 Court No. 02 In the Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri Pradip, A.R.(Ct.)

Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction Appellate Side Case No.

WPA 2525 of 2025 In the matter of:

M/s. East India Traders …. Petitioner VS.

The State of West Bengal & Ors.

….Respondents For the Petitioner: Ms. Rima Sarkar ….Advocate For the State:

Mr. Pretom Das Mr. Sumit Kumar ….Advocates

1. Affidavit of service filed in Court today is taken on record.

2. The petitioner is aggrieved by the ex parte adjudication order passed by the respondent without granting any opportunity of hearing.

3. From the documents annexed to the writ petition, it appears that a show-cause notice dated 19^th September, 2023 was issued to the petitioner under Sections 73/74 of the SGST Act, 2017. No date of hearing was mentioned in the show-cause notice.

4. The authority passed the adjudication order ex parte on 11^th December, 2023. The said order was also not communicated to the petitioner. The petitioner came to know about the said order after the authority initiated recovery proceeding in the month of August, 2025.

5. Specific ground of challenge of the ex parte adjudication order is that there has been violation of the principle of natural justice. No opportunity of hearing was granted to the petitioner. The show-cause notice and the summary thereof was allegedly put up in the site of the authority under the heading ‘additional notices and order’.

6. In support of the submission that the ex parte order passed without hearing the assessee is bad in law, reliance has been placed on the judgment delivered by the Hon’ble Division Bench of this Court on 9^th January, 2024 in MAT 205 of 2023 (CAN 1 of 2023) in the matter of Goutam Bhowmik Vs. State of West Bengal & Ors. reported in (2024) 158 taxmann.com

399 (Calcutta)

7. As regards the issue of putting up of notices and orders in the GST Commission’s portal under the heading ‘additional notices / orders’, the petitioner relies on the order passed by the Court on 22^nd August, 2024 in WPA 1517 of 2024 in the matter of Ishan Snax Private Limited Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, Siliguri Charge & Ors

8. Prayer has been made to set aside the impugned ex parte adjudication order.

9. Learned advocate representing the State respondents submits that the petitioner ought to have noticed the show- cause notice and the order which was put up in the official portal of the taxing authority.

10. Upon hearing the submissions made on behalf of both the parties and upon perusal of the materials placed before the Court, it appears that, admittedly the show-cause which was issued to the petitioner on 19^th September, 2023 does not bear any date of hearing. Even in the reminder notice issued by the authority on 16^th October, 2023 there is no mention of the date and time of personal hearing.

11. The authority proceeded to dispose of the matter ex parte by passing adjudication order on 11^th December, 2023. The said order was also not communicated to the petitioner. It is only when the recovery proceeding was initiated on 29^th August, 2025, the petitioner came to learn about the said ex parte order and thereafter filed the instant writ petition challenging the proceeding.

12. In Goutam Bhowmik (supra) the Court categorically held that as the provisions of the Act require an opportunity of hearing to be granted to the assessee when the Proper Officer contemplates any adverse order, accordingly, the assessee ought to be heard prior to passing any adverse order. The same has not been done in the instant case.

13. In view of the law laid down by the Hon’ble Division Bench the impugned order passed ex parte without granting any opportunity of hearing is held to be bad in law.

14. As regards putting up of notices and orders in the Commission’s portal, the Court in Ishan Snax (supra) held that the ex parte assessment order is liable to be set aside as the assessee may be under a bona fide impression that no notice or assessment order wa