Show Cause Notice forms the foundation of adjudication, and any order passed based on a defective and vague SCN, and any order traveling beyond the scope of the SCN is unsustainable in law and is liable to be quashed.-(GST APPELLATE AUTHORITY, FEB 2026)

Additional Commissioner, Grade-1 (Appeal), Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, while deciding the appeals under GST, was pleased to held that the SCN is defective and legally unsustainable as it fails to provide essential particulars. In the absence of proper disclosure of the basis on which conclusions with regards to evasion of tax / fraud committed has been arrived in the SCN, the Appellant is deprived of a fair and reasonable opportunity to rebut, thereby rendering the SCN vague and violate of the principles of natural justice. The Appellate Authority further held that  held that the  Show Cause Notice  forms the foundation of adjudication, and any order passed based on a defective and vague SCN, and any order traveling beyond the scope of the SCN is unsustainable in law and is liable to be quashed.

Source : Order  No.  ZD020824000829H  dated M/s Jai Ambey Bharat Gas Vs. Assistant Commissioner State