Aruna Slab Polishing Industries Vs Assistant Commissioner (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
Composite GST Assessment Order Invalid as It Covered Several Years, Rules Andhra Pradesh HC; Single GST Assessment for Multiple Years Violates GST Law, Says Andhra Pradesh High Court; Andhra Pradesh HC Quashes Composite GST Order Due to Multi-Year Assessment Defect; GST Assessment Must Be Separate for Each Financial Year.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside a GST assessment order dated 12.12.2022 issued against the petitioner for the period from July 2017 to February 2022. The petitioner challenged the order primarily on the ground that a single composite assessment order covering multiple financial years violated Sections 73 and 74 of the GST Act, 2017. The Court noted that a Division Bench, in earlier writ petitions, had already held that a single show-cause notice or composite assessment order cannot be issued for more than one tax period when the assessment is before the due date for filing the annual return, or for more than one year once the due date for filing the annual return has been reached. Since the petitioner pressed this ground, the Court disposed of the writ petition on this issue alone while leaving other grounds open. The assessment order was set aside and the matter remanded to the authorities to initiate fresh proceedings separately for each assessment year, subject to payment of 20% of the disputed tax. Coercive recovery steps, including attachment, were also set aside.
