In a recent ruling, the Calcutta High Court mandated that the assessee who failed to submit a GST return owing to mental stress and physical illness be given a chance to be heard.
The petitioner was a payee for his proprietorship firm under M/S. DYM Auto World. On December 31, 2020, he submitted his GST return for the month of June 2020 within the allotted time.
After suffering significant losses in his business, the petitioner was unable to file a GST return within the allotted time frame. As a result, he lost control and even made attempted suicide on December 27, 2020.
He spent the entire month of December and maybe some of January 2021 in the hospital. The petitioner received a notice to show cause to terminate the GST registration because he failed to file a return for a continuous six-month period.
The petitioner said that he was unable to submit the return by the deadline because of his medical condition, mental instability, and loss of business. Additionally, he was unable to respond to the GST show-cause notice.
It was accepted legal doctrine that the reasons form the very foundation of the ruling and that failing to communicate them amounts to denying the other party a fair chance to be heard, which taints the course of justice. According to Justice Bibek Chaudhuri, the petitioner was not given the chance to be heard. The petitioner attempted suicide because he was experiencing extreme mental stress at the time.
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The Court stated that “the petitioner should be given an opportunity of hearing. But to avail of such opportunity, the petitioner shall first make payment of up-to-date GST with statutory interest and penalty within three weeks from the date.”
| Case Title | M/S. DYM Auto World vs Assistant Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise & Ors |
| Citation | 2023 TAXSCAN (HC) 247 |
| Appellant by | Mr Jagriti Mishra, Mr Subrata Pal & Mr Unus Ali |
| Respondent by | Mr Ratan Banik |
| Calcutta High Court |
