M/S Sendhoor Coffee vs. The Additional Commissioner Of Commercial Taxes
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORAL ORDER The petitioner is before this Court seeking the following prayer: “a) Issue Writ of Certiorari or directions in the nature of Certiorari to quash the impugned show cause notice issued in Form GST DRC-01 by the 2nd respondent bearing File No. Adcom/Enf/SZ/CTO-23/2023-24 dated 15.03.2024 vide Annexure "С".
b) Issue Writ of Certiorari or directions in the nature of Certiorari to quash the impugned order passed by the 3rd respondent authority bearing File. No. CTO(Audit)-4.7/DGSTO-4/S-73-3458(19-20)-23-24 dated 13.08.2024 in relation to the tax period 2019-20 and bearing File No. CTO(Audit)- 4.7/DG TO-4/S-73-3459(20-21) 23-24 dated 13.08.2024 in relation to the tax period 2020-21 and File. No. dated CTO(Audit)-4.7/DGSTO-4/S-73- 3460(21-22)/23-24 dated 13.08.2024 in relation to the tax period 2021-22 vide Annexure 'F-1 to F-3" respectively.
c) Issue such other writ or orders as deemed fit in the circumstances of the case.”
Heard Sri K.M.Shivayogiswamy, learned counsel for petitioner and Smt. Jyoti M. Maradi, learned High Court Government Pleader for respondents. HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:36694
Learned counsel for petitioner submits that the issue in the case is squarely covered by the order passed by a coordinate bench of this Court in W.P.No.26164/2024, disposed on 30.09.2024. 4. Learned counsel for respondents – revenue would not dispute the position of law but would submit that though show cause notice is issued, no reply is submitted before passing of the order. She would submit that the matter may be remitted back to the hands of respondent No.2, from the stage of issuance of show cause notice subject to imposition of costs.
The order passed in W.P.No.26164/2024, reads as follows:
“3. A perusal of the material on record will indicate that though several contentions are urged by both sides in support of their respective claims, the main / primary issue that arises for consideration is, whether the impugned Notices at Annexures-A and B both dated 05.08.2024 are vitiated on account of the fact that the same purport to club / consolidate / group the demand for more than one financial year i.e., for the tax period from 2017 to 2023 and as to whether the impugned Notices deserve to be quashed on this ground. The said issue came up for consideration in the case of M/s. Bangalore Golf Club vs. Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes – W.P.No.16500/2024 dated 07.08.2024, in which, the co- ordinate Bench of this Court held as under:-
“ In this writ petition, the petitioner, a Club, challenges the impugned show cause notice dated HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:36694
2024, as detailed in Annexure-F, and the summary of the show cause notice dated 08.05.2024, as outlined in Annexure-G, issued by the respondent for the tax periods 2019-20, 2020- 21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. The petitioner contends that these notices, issued under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, are flawed due to the improper consolidation of multiple tax periods into a single show cause notice.
The petitioner’s primary argument is that the respondent cannot issue a common show cause notice by grouping the tax periods from 2019 to 2023-24. The petitioner asserts that under Section 73 of the CGST Act, a specific action must be completed within the relevant year, and the limitation period of three years applies separately to each assessment year. Consequently, the petitioner contends that clubbing multiple tax periods in a single notice is impermissible, and separate notices should have been issued for each assessment year under sub-Section (1) of Section
The petitioner relies on the judgment of the Hon'ble Madras High Court in the case of M/s. Hon’ble Supreme Court's decision in State of (India) Ltd.,2. The Hon’ble Apex Court held that where an assessment encompasses different assessment years, each assessment order can be distinctly separated and must be treated independently.
This Court has reviewed the judgment of the Madras High Court and the scope of inquiry under Section 73 of the CGST Act. Based on the established legal principles and the precedent set
1 W.P.No.33164 of 2023 2 AIR 1966 SC 1350 HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:36694 by the Hon’ble Apex Court, this Court finds that the respondent erred in issuing a consolidated show cause notice for multiple assessment years, spanning from 2019 to 2023-24. 5. Section 73(10) of the CGST Act mandates a specific time limit from the due date for furnishing the annual return for the financial year to which the tax due relates. The law stipulates that particular actions must be completed within a designated year, and such actions should be executed in accordance with the law's provisions. The principles enunciated in the judgment cited by the Hon’ble Supreme Court are directly applicable to the present case.
For the reasons aforementioned, this Court concludes that the show cause notices issued by the respondent are fundamentally flawed. The practice of issuing a single, consolidated show cause notice for multiple assessment years contravenes the provisions of the CGST Act and established legal precedents.
Accordingly, this Court proceeds to pass the following: ORDER
(i) The writ petition is allowed;
(ii) The impugned show cause notice dated 07.05.2024 (Annexure-F) and the summary of the show cause notice dated 08.05.2024 (Annexure-G) issued by the respondent for the tax periods 2019- 20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 are hereby quashed;
(iii) This order, however, does not preclude the respondent from issuing separate show cause notices for each assessment year in compliance with Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017.”
As is clear from the aforesaid judgment of this Court, the issue in controversy involved in the present petition is directly and squarely covered by the aforesaid judgment and consequently, the impugned Notices deserve HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:36694 to be quashed by reserving liberty in favour of the respondents to issue separate / independent Notices for each assessment year in terms of *Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017.”
In the light of the afore-quoted order and facts obtaining the case at hand, which covers the issue on all its fours, the subject petition deserves to succeed.
For the aforesaid reasons, the following: ORDER i) The writ petition is allowed. ii) The impugned order dated 13.08.2024, at Annexures-F1 to F3 passed by respondent *No.3, stands quashed. iii) The matter is remitted back for reconsideration afresh to the hands of concerned respondents, after providing sufficient and reasonable opportunity to the petitioner and pass necessary orders, in accordance with law, bearing in mind the law laid down in W.P.No.16500/2024, disposed on 07.08.2024. iv) Liberty is reserved in favour of the respondents to issue separate / independent notices for each assessment year in terms of Section 74 of * Corrected vide chamber order dated 19.01.2026 HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:36694 the CGST Act, 2017 and proceed further in accordance with law. Ordered accordingly. (M.NAGAPRASANNA) JUDGE
NVJ List No.: 1 Sl No.: 133
Reproduced from the public record of the Karnataka High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.