Section 61 of the CGST Act, 2017 – Notice — Proper Officer -- The petitioner challenged the Assessment, Penalty & Interest order dated 15.12.2022 for the tax periods 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. The petitioner challenged the earlier Assessment Order dated 24.06.2020 on the ground that no personal hearing was accorded to him and the court vide order dated 15.03.2021 remanded the matter to 1st respondent with a direction to afford PH and to pass Assessment Order afresh on merits. Thereafter, the present impugned order dated 15.12.2022 was passed. The petitioner argued that the Joint Commissioner (ST) issued authorization only for conducting inspection / auditing and not for making assessment, for which a separate Post Audit / Post Inspection, authorization is required to be issued. The Assessment Order has been passed by the 1st respondent, who is not the jurisdictional Assessing Authority and not the Proper Officer. The Government Pleader submitted that the vide A.P. Gazette notification No. 1071 dated 02.07.2022, the proper officer for assessment shall be 1st respondent The court observed that the information obtained by the 1st respondent from the third parties is confined to the turnover of the petitioner relating to A.P. State or it includes the remaining three States.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court set aside the impugned Assessment Order dated 15.12.2022 and granted liberty to the petitioner to submit the relevant records showing the turnover before 1st respondent, within three weeks.