A Square Associates Vs Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sti (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
The Andhra Pradesh High Court allowed the writ petition filed by A Square Associates challenging an assessment order dated 25.10.2025 issued in Form GST DRC-07 covering the period from 01.04.2018 to 25.03.2025. The petitioner primarily contended that a single composite assessment order covering more than one financial year was contrary to Sections 73 and 74 of the GST Act, 2017.
The Court noted that a Division Bench of the same High Court, in W.P. No.11028 of 2025 and connected matters, had already examined the issue and held that a single show cause notice or a single composite assessment order cannot be issued for more than one tax period. The earlier judgment clarified that where assessment proceedings are initiated before the due date for filing annual returns, the assessment cannot cover more than one month, and where the due date for filing annual returns has been reached, the proceedings cannot cover more than one financial year.
Although the petitioner had raised several grounds challenging the assessment order, the Court observed that the petitioner pressed only the principal contention regarding the validity of the composite assessment order. In view of the settled legal position laid down by the earlier Division Bench judgment, the Court disposed of the writ petition solely on that ground without examining the remaining challenges raised by the petitioner.
