9911796707
TMI Blog2023 (2) TMI 650X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... "1. The petitioner is before this Court seeking to challenge the action of the respondent no.2 in cancelling the GST registration raising the ground of gross violation of principles of natural justice in quasi-judicial proceedings with the following prayers: "14(a) That this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to issue a writ of certiorari and any other appropriate Writ, Order or direction, in the nature of Writ, thereby calling for the records maintained by the Respondent No.2 and after going into the validity and legality of the impugned Show Cause Notice dated 09.05.2022 (Annexure-B), and consequent ex-parte Order dated 24.06.2022, cancelling the Registration; 24DGDPS7158MIZR, (Annexure-D), passed by the Respondent No.2, be pleased to qua ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... "In case, Registration has been obtained by means of fraud, willful misstatement or suppression of facts. Your are hereby directed to furnish a reply to the notice within seven working days from the date of service of this notice." 5. Order of cancellation, according to the respondents, has come on some other grounds. Noticing the hollowness, the following paragraphs of the base decision of this Court in the case of Aggarwal Dyeing and Printing Works vs. State of Gujarat, [2022] 137 taxmann.com 332 (Gujarat) are reproduced as under: "11. At the outset, we notice that it is settled legal position of law that reasons are heart and soul of the order and non communication of same itself amounts to denial of reasonable opportunity of hearin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dministrative decisions, if such decisions affect anyone prejudicially. b. A quasi-judicial authority must record reasons in support of its conclusions. c. Insistence on recording of reasons is meant to serve the wider principle of justice that justice must not only be done it must also appear to be done as well. d. Recording of reasons also operates as a valid restraint on any possible arbitrary exercise of judicial and quasijudicial or even administrative power. e. Reasons reassure that discretion has been exercised by the decision maker on relevant grounds and by disregarding extraneous considerations. f. Reasons have virtually become as indispensable a component of a decision making process as observing principles of natu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rs less prone to errors but also makes them subject to broader scrutiny (See David Shapiro in Defence of Judicial Candor (1987) 100 Harvard Law Review 731-737);. n. Since the requirement to record reasons emanates from the broad doctrine of fairness in decision making, the said requirement is now virtually a component of human rights and was considered part of Strasbourg Jurisprudence. See (1994) 19 EHRR 553 at 562 para 29 and Anya v. University of Oxford, 2001 EWCA Civ 405, wherein the Court referred to Article 6 of European Convention of Human Rights which requires, "adequate and intelligent reasons must be given for judicial decision." o. In all common law jurisdictions judgments play a vital role in setting up precedents for the f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f law, by itself, does not provide for an opportunity of hearing, the requirement of opportunity of hearing has to be read into the provision. 13. It cannot be disputed that the writ applicant is liable to both civil and penal consequences pursuant to the impugned order of cancellation of certificate of registration. In all the writ applications we could note from the tabular details that the show cause notice though issued in the prescribed form does not elaborate the reasons and the one line reason mentioned is nothing but the reproduction of either of the reasons provide under rules regarding cancellation of registration. It appears from the materials on record that the respondent no. 2 issued a show-cause notice dated 18th Septemb ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t, the respondent authority i.e. the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, State tax Officer ought to have atleast incorporated specific details to the contents of the show cause. Any prudent person would fail to respond to such show cause notice bereft of details thereby making the mechanism of issuing show cause notice a mere formality and an eye wash." 6. This Court has followed Aggarwal Dyeing and Printing Works (supra) in various decisions, wherever there is a violation of principles of natural justice, the order of cancellation of GST registration is frowned upon and also viewed seriously. Relying on these decisions, the show cause notice dated 09.05.2022 and the order of cancellation of registration dated 24.06.2022 are quashed and set as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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