Lexington Soft Private Limited Vs Additional Commissioner GST & Central Excise (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court heard a writ petition challenging a show cause notice dated 28 June 2025 issued by the respondent under the GST law. The petition was taken up for final disposal at the admission stage with the consent of both parties.
During the hearing, counsel for both the petitioner and the respondent submitted that the dispute concerned the issuance of a single show cause notice covering multiple financial years, commonly referred to as “bunching” of notices. They also submitted that the issue had already been addressed by the Court in an earlier common order dated 21 July 2025 passed in a batch of writ petitions.
In that earlier decision, the Court clarified the legal position regarding issuance of show cause notices under the GST Act. The Court held that the Act permits issuance of show cause notices based on the tax period. If an annual return has been filed, the entire year is treated as the relevant tax period and the show cause notice must correspond to that financial year. If the notice is issued before the filing of annual returns, it may be based on monthly returns. However, if the notice is issued after filing of annual returns or after commencement of limitation, it must be based on the annual return for the relevant financial year.
