GST Update

 Desk of CA. Praveen Sharma – 879 Series (CAPS) 

The Calcutta High Court recently decided the case of JCI Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd.

The petitioner had filed a rectification request against an order dated 05.02.2025, but the Deputy Commissioner rejected it on 13.08.2025 without granting a hearing despite a specific request. The petitioner argued this violated natural justice.

They relied on the Madras High Court ruling in Aries Interior, which states that when a rectification is sought, the applicant must be given an opportunity of hearing.

The Revenue argued that under Section 161, a hearing is necessary only when rectification adversely affects a person, and since no modification was made, no hearing was required.

The Court examined the third proviso to Section 161 and held that principles of natural justice must be followed whenever an action may lead to civil consequences.

The petitioner pointed out mismatches between the DRC-07 summary and the detailed order, which affected the calculation of the pre-deposit for an appeal. Since this prevented them from filing an appeal properly, it amounted to civil consequences.

The Court held that the authority should have granted a hearing before rejecting the rectification request. The rejection order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Deputy Commissioner to reconsider the rectification after giving a proper personal hearing.

The Court clarified that it did not comment on the merits of the rectification request; the remand was only to ensure that natural justice is followed.

LINK: CA. Praveen Sharma on Linkedin

Regards
CAPS