Prabhakaran Padmanabhan Vs Additional Commissioner (Kerala High Court)
The Kerala High Court considered a writ petition challenging a consolidated Show Cause Notice issued for multiple financial years, 2018-2019 to 2021-2022, along with the consequential Order-in-original and summary order. The petitioner contended that issuance of a composite notice covering multiple assessment years was legally unsustainable, relying on the decisions in Joint Commissioner (Intelligence & Enforcement) v. M/s. Lakshmi Mobiles Accessories and Tharayil Medicals v. Deputy Commissioner, Audit Division – IV. After hearing both sides, the Court found merit in the petitioner’s submission, noting that the Division Bench had entered such a finding in the cited decisions. Accordingly, the Court quashed the consolidated Show Cause Notice, Order-in-original and summary order. The respondents were granted liberty to issue separate notices for the relevant assessment years. The period from issuance of the composite notice until receipt of the certified copy of the judgment was directed to be excluded while computing the limitation period for initiating fresh proceedings. All other contentions of the parties were left open.
Cases Discussed
- Joint Commissioner (Intelligence & Enforcement) v. M/s. Lakshmi Mobiles Accessories (Kerala High Court), [2025 KHC OnLine 149]
- Tharayil Medicals v. Deputy Commissioner, Audit Division – IV (Kerala High Court), [2025 VIL 356 KER]
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KERALA HIGH COURT
