GST hearings will be allowed on WhatsApp

The Central Board for Indirect Taxes and Customs has issued a notification allowing the use of the mobile application, WhatsApp to conduct virtual hearings of all demand notices related to indirect taxes including the Goods and Services Tax. In light of the Coronavirus pandemic and consequent lockdown, the CBIC has announced the conducting of personal hearings for of all demand notices through video conferencing software including WhatsApp with the consent of the appellant or respondent. The state GST authority has said that all the parties will be required to agree for a virtual hearing via Whatsapp Video Conferencing and provide the GST authorities with a mobile number that supports WhatsApp software. The authorities will notify each party with the date and time of the hearing, and the same will need to be confirmed on a day in advance. Each party will be required to send a confirmation of their presence 15 minutes before the hearing.