PR Industries Vs Assistant Commissioner ST (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
Summary: The Andhra Pradesh High Court at Amaravati, comprising Justice Ninala Jayasurya and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar, disposed of Writ Petition No. 22160 of 2026 filed by M/s. PR Industries against an ex-parte composite order dated 17.09.2025 passed under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
The impugned assessment order covered the tax periods 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 up to December 2024. The petitioner challenged the order, inter alia, on the ground that a single/composite assessment order covering multiple tax periods was impermissible under the GST law. The petitioner’s case also referred to the absence of service of a show cause notice or personal hearing notice and contended that Section 74 had been invoked to obtain the longer limitation period.
The writ petition was heard at the admission stage with the consent of the parties. The petitioner relied upon the decision of the co-ordinate Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in S J Constructions Vs Assistant Commissioner And Others, W.P. No. 11028 of 2025 & batch, dated 17.09.2025.
In S.J. Constructions, the co-ordinate Bench considered Sections 73 and 74 and held that the absence of the expression “such tax period” in Section 74(4), unlike Section 73(4), did not alter the interpretation. The Court also considered the impact of permitting a common order covering more than one assessment or financial year upon other statutory provisions, including the registered person’s benefit under Section 128 of the APGST Act and the statutory right of appeal against assessment orders under Sections 73 or 74. It concluded that a single show cause notice or a single composite assessment order could not be passed in relation to more than one tax period of a month where assessment was taken up before the due date for filing the annual return, or for more than one year where the due date for filing the annual return had been reached.
