Court Orders Issuance of Separate Notices for Each Assessment Year, Aligns with Prior Judgments
In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court has quashed a composite Show Cause Notice issued by the Superintendent of Central GST and Central Excise, which was served to M/s. Malabar Trade Links for multiple financial years, namely 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. The court found the issuance of such composite notices legally unsustainable, echoing previous decisions by the Kerala High Court.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A., who referenced the court's earlier rulings in the cases of "Joint Commissioner (Intelligence & Enforcement) v. M/s. Lakshmi Mobiles Accessories" and "Tharayil Medicals (M/s.), Thrissur v. Deputy Commissioner, Thrissur." Both cases had similarly concluded that composite notices spanning multiple financial years were not legally tenable.
The petitioner, M/s. Malabar Trade Links, was represented by a team of advocates including Shri. K.S. Hariharan Nair and others, who argued that the issuance of a single notice for multiple years violated established legal principles. The respondent, represented by Adv. Gireeshkumar V, SC, faced the court's decision to annul the composite notice and the subsequent Order-in-Original.
The court's decision allows the respondent the liberty to issue separate notices for each assessment year. Additionally, the court stipulated that the period from the issuance of the original composite notice until the receipt of the certified copy of the judgment would be excluded when calculating the limitation period for initiating new proceedings.
This ruling reinforces the importance of adhering to legal standards when issuing notices under the Goods and Services Tax regime, ensuring clarity and compliance with judicial precedents.
Bottom line:-
Issuance of composite Show Cause Notice for multiple financial years found to be legally unsustainable as per prior judgments of the Kerala High Court.
Statutory provision(s): Goods and Services Tax (GST)
