Delhi GST Made Personal Hearing Through Virtual Mode Mandatory in All Proceedings

Understanding the importance of personal hearing in the litigations and considering the mandatory provisions of granting an opportunity of personal hearing under Section 75(4), 126(3), 107(8) of Delhi SGST Act, 2017, the Delhi Government has issued guidelines on conducting personal hearing through virtual mode in all proceedings vide circular No. F.3(640)/GST/P&R/2025/348-55 dated 13th June, 2025.

As per the circular issued, the Department of Trades and Taxes is committed to fostering transparency, efficiency, and ease of compliance in tax administrations. To pursue these objectives and as a step towards establishing a faceless and technology-driven mechanism, the Delhi GST Department has decided to make it mandatory to conduct all personal hearings in GST proceedings through virtual mode. This will ensure great accessibility and streamline the process for all taxpayers.

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Accordingly, to ensure strict compliance with the principle of natural justice, the following are the guidelines for conducting personal hearings through virtual mode. All authorities functioning under the Delhi GST Act are required to comply with these guidelines:

1. In all proceedings, all personal hearings shall be mandatorily conducted in virtual mode, and no person is required to appear in person.

2. Such hearings shall be conducted through available applications such as WEBEX, Google-meet etc. The date and time of the hearing, along with a link for the virtual hearing, shall be informed in advance through a registered email ID and phone number.

3. The e-mail shall also contain details of the staff/officer who would assist the party in conducting virtual meetings. Such a link should not be shared with any other person without the consent of the concerned officer.

4. The taxpayer and authorised representative shall make sure that meeting will join the meeting at the specified time.

5. The Taxpayer or authorised representative shall submit their vakalatnama or authorisation letter along with a copy of their photo-ID card and provide their contact details well in advance to such officer. Without this document, he shall not be allowed to represent the matter.

6. The virtual meeting shall be conducted from the office of the concerned authority only.

7. All persons participating in the virtual hearing shall be dressed appropriately and shall maintain decorum and dignity.

8. The submission made by the taxpayer during the hearing shall be recorded as “Record of Personal Hearing” on an online PH module, and after generating it in PDF format, the authority shall put their signature and stamp on the same.

9. A copy of such document shall be shared on the registered email ID of the taxpayer and the email ID of the authorised representative.

10. A notice of adjournment shall be sent through the BO portal, mentioning details of the next date of hearing.

11. Any documents to be considered during the virtual hearing shall be shared by the taxpayer by sending scanned copies of such self-attested documents through official mail to the authority before the virtual hearing.

12. Where a physical set of documents is required to be submitted, the same shall be submitted after due attestation by the taxpayer or his authorised representative to the concerned authority during working hours.

13. The proceedings of the virtual hearing, as well as the documents submitted, shall be deemed to be valid for the purpose of the GST Act and rules.

1. Where it is not feasible in rare and exceptional circumstances on the part of the taxpayer or his authorised representative to conduct the personal hearing through virtual mode. Each such request shall be approved only by the Zonal Incharge or the officer concerned after recording the reasons for the same.