Delhi GST Department Mandates Virtual Personal Hearings for All Cases

The Delhi GST Department has stated that the virtual personal hearing will be compulsory in all proceedings under the Delhi GST Act, 2017. This directive, issued via a circular dated June 13, 2025, aims to enhance transparency, efficiency, and ease of compliance, moving towards a faceless tax administration.

All hearings (personal), including those of Appellate Authorities, shall now be conducted only through online means using tools like WEBEX or Google Meet. Advance notices will be given to the taxpayers and their representatives in the form of a registered email and mobile numbers, containing the relevant information regarding technical assistants.

The participants will need to be equipped with firm applications and a reliable internet connection, and their authorization papers and photo identification must be deposited before the event.

Any documentation and procedural activities of this virtual nature will be lawful. In-person hearings shall be rare and may be allowed only for recordable reasons by the Zonal In-charge.

Circular No. F.3(640)/GST/P&R/2025/348-55 | Dated: 13/06/2025

Subject: Guidelines for Mandatory Conduct of Personal Hearings through Virtual Mode in All Proceedings under the Delhi GST Act, 2017

Guidelines on the Mandatory Conduct of Personal Hearings in All Proceedings. Personal Hearings to be virtually conducted under the Delhi GST Act, 2017, and the Rules framed thereunder.

The right to be heard is an important procedural protection in that it guarantees persons or organizations with tax demands or liabilities have a fair hearing, as they have a chance to present their cases. Provisions under sub-section (4) of Section 75, sub-section (3) of Section 126, and sub-section (8) of Section 107 of the Delhi GST Act, 2017, explicitly mandate the granting of a personal hearing before any adverse order is passed by the Officer or the Appellate Authority.

In a move to facilitate transparency, efficiency and ease of compliance within the tax administration and, in line with that vision of the government to introduce a faceless and technology-driven GST structure, the Department of Trade and Taxes, Government of NCT of Delhi, has now made it compulsory to conduct all personal hearings by a virtual means.

Important Directives Were Given:

Virtual Mode hearing Mandatory: No in-person hearing will be held; they will be held online. There are no physical looks required.

Authorized Venues: The hearings will take place through such applications as WEBEX or Google Meet. Time and date of hearing will be communicated in advance either to the taxpayer in person or through the authorized person through registered mail/mobile communication.

Assistance Officer Details: The hearing notice will also have the contact details of the appointed officer who will be offering technical assistance. Their permission should not be given to share the virtual hearing link.

System Preparedness: Taxpayers or their official representatives obtain the application necessary and download it so that the internet connection is available before the stated hearing.

Pre-submission of Documents: The representative needs to make a pre-submission of the vakalatnama / authorization letter, photo identity, and contact details. Without this, his participation will be denied.

Official Venue: The virtual hearings will only be carried out in the office of the concerned Authority.

Professional Conduct: The participants would need to be decently dressed and show decorum in the session.

Record of Hearing: All the submissions before the hearing shall be permanently recorded as “Record of Personal Hearing” by the Authority by the PH online module. An emailed PDF copy will be signed and stamped, which will be sent to the registered email address of the taxpayer as well as other email addresses (in case there are).

Protocol on Adjournment: When a case is adjourned, it is the procedure to state when the case will be heard through the BO Portal.

Document Submission: Provided that any further documents have to be filed, then a scanned self-attested copy of the documents has to be sent through email to the concerned Authority prior to the hearing.

Submission of Physical Documents (in the form of hard copy): In case the Authority demands it, the physical set (attested) will be received after hearing in working hours.

Legal Validity: All operations and documents created thereby under virtual mode shall be considered legal under the DGST/CGST Act, and as per section 4, Information Technology Act, 2000.

Rare In-Person Hearings: Face-to-face hearings can only be granted in situations that are rare and exceptional. Such a request has to be pre-approved by the Zonal In-charge, with the reason being put in writing.

Department examination: Department representatives can also be present in the hearing virtually, in case of necessity.

Issue Reporting: Whenever there are any problems that involve the implementation, those should be reported at once to be solved.

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Key Takeaways

The initiative of the Delhi GST Department towards virtual hearings is one of the steps towards digitisation and procedural convenience. It does not consume much time and costs both the taxpayer and the authority, but also there is abidance of the principles of natural justice in a transparent manner.

The taxpayers are encouraged to keep in touch with their agreed registered contacts and have a good hearing preparation to prove presence in a virtual court, to avoid being late in the process or face a negative result.