S J Constructions Vs Assistant Commissioner And Others (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
Andhra Pradesh High Court held that single GST show cause notice cannot be passed in relation to more than one tax period of either a month if the assessment is taken up before the due date for filing of the annual return or for more than one year if the due date for filing of annual return has been reached.
Facts- The present petition is preferred by the petitioner mainly contesting the orders of assessment, on the grounds of lack of signature and lack of DIN number. Apart from this, the petitioners also challenge the impugned orders on the ground that different assessment years have been bunched together and a composite show cause notice and a composite order had been issued in relation to different tax periods, and the same is impermissible and not in accordance with the provisions of the APGST Act, 2017.
Conclusion- The Hon’ble High Court at Madras held that while the term “any period” has been used in Section 73(3), the language in Section 73(4) is “such tax periods”. The Hon’ble High court at Madras then went into the definition of tax period as specified in Section 2(106) to mean that a period for which a return is to be filed. Since return, as defined in Section 2(97) is a return for a month or a year, the Hon’ble High Court at Madras had come to the conclusion that the term “any period” would have to be understood, in the light of the use of the term “such tax periods” in Section 73(4) and consequently “any period” would have to be understood to be a tax period.
