Shri Vannappa Boya Vs Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
The Andhra Pradesh High Court allowed the writ petition filed by Shri Vannappa Boya, challenging an assessment order dated April 18, 2024, issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax. The impugned order covered two separate and distinct tax periods: 2018-2019 and 2021-2022.
The court’s decision hinged on a procedural flaw, not the merits of the tax demand. The petitioner’s counsel relied on a controlling judicial precedent of the same court, established in W.P.No.11028 of 2025 and batch (dated September 17, 2025), which holds that a single composite order cannot be passed for different tax periods under the GST Act.
The respondent argued that the writ petition should be dismissed, asserting that the invocation of Section 74 of the GST Act was proper and the petitioner’s substantive defense against tax evasion was without merit.
The High Court, however, declined to address these substantive issues. It ruled that the assessment order must be set aside on the short ground that it violated the legal mandate by combining separate tax periods into one order, a course of action deemed not permissible.
Consequently, the court allowed the writ petition, setting aside the assessment order, and remanded the matter back to the assessing authority. The authority was directed to pass fresh, period-specific assessment orders in accordance with the law. The court also clarified that the petitioner is entitled to raise all objections, including questions of limitation, before the assessing authority during the fresh proceedings.
