GST Order Can't Be A Copy-Paste Of Showcause Notice, Independent Reasoning Must Be Present: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court held that a GST order can't be a copy-paste of the show cause notice and that independent reasoning must be present. Justices M.S. Sonak and Jitendra Jain stated that “simply cutting and pasting the allegations in the show cause notice or mechanically reciting them verbatim does not inspire confidence that due consideration has been shown to the cause, and the decision is made after its due consideration. Ultimately, these are aspects of natural justice principles that should guide the decision-making process in such cases.” The assessee/petitioner has challenged the order passed by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax/1st respondent which has confirmed the GST demand made in the show cause notice. As per the assessee the order is vitiated by non-application of mind, non-consideration of detailed submissions canvassed by the assessee in its replies. The so-called reasoning in the order is a verbatim copy of the statements in the show cause notice. The bench observed that the adjudicating authority is obliged to issue an order after thoroughly considering all relevant arguments and to state the reasons supporting its decision briefly. Any decision made without considering the main contentions or without providing any supporting reasons would be indicative of a lack of application of mind. Merely cutting and pasting the allegations from the show cause notice does not amount to giving any independent reasons after due consideration the assessee's contentions or after due application of mind to those contentions, added the bench. The bench further opined that since this is a case of complete non-application of mind and violation of principles of natural justice, there is no point in directing the assessee to pursue the alternative remedy of appeal. In view of the above, the bench allowed the petition and remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority for fresh consideration. Case Title: GlobeOp Financial Services (India) Private Limited v. Deputy Commissioner of State Tax Case Number: WRIT PETITION (L) NO.12528 OF 2025 Counsel for Petitioner/Assessee: Rohan Shah, Senior Advocate a/w Mohammed Anajwalla, Chandni Tanna & Prathamesh Chavan i/b. India Law Alliance for the Petitioner. Counsel for Respondent/Department: Prachi Tatake, Addl. G. P. for Respondent No.1 and Shruti Vyas a/w Ms. Suman Kumar Das for Respondent No.3. Click Here To Read/Download The Order

GST Order Can't Be A Copy-Paste Of Showcause Notice, Independent Reasoning Must Be Present: Bombay High Court

Mehak Dhiman

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