Bemmanakkodan Reghu Vs State Tax Officer (Kerala High Court)
The writ petition challenged Ext.P1 consolidated Show Cause Notice issued by the second respondent and Ext.P4 Order-in-Original issued by the first respondent for multiple financial years, namely 2018-19 to 2022-23. The petitioner contended that the issuance of a composite notice covering several assessment years was legally unsustainable. Reliance was placed on the decisions of the Kerala High Court in Joint Commissioner (Intelligence & Enforcement) v. M/s. Lakshmi Mobiles Accessories [2025 KHC OnLine 149] and Tharayil Medicals (M/s.), Thrissur v. Deputy Commissioner, Thrissur [2025 KHC OnLine 467], wherein such composite proceedings had been held to be impermissible.
After hearing both parties, the Court found merit in the petitioner’s submissions and observed that the Division Bench had already settled the issue in the above judgments. Applying those principles, the Court held that interference was warranted.
Accordingly, the writ petition was disposed of by quashing Ext.P1 Show Cause Notice and Ext.P4 Order-in-Original. The respondents were granted liberty to issue separate notices for the relevant assessment years. The Court further directed that the period from the date of Ext.P1 notice until receipt of the certified copy of the judgment shall be excluded while computing limitation for initiating fresh proceedings. All other contentions were left open.
