Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Aminath Afroze, daughter of Hameed Hussain and associated with the Alitopoo Group of Estates in Kodagu, challenged an order dated 23.01.2025 passed under Section 74 of the CGST/KGST Act, 2017, bearing Order No. 04/2025-GST/MYS/VIRAJPET-SUP-BKRU-2024-25 GST, for the financial years 2017-18 to 2022-23, along with the underlying show cause notice dated 26.07.2024 (SCN Sl. No. 01/2024-25, Virajpet Range) covering the same six-year span, issued by the Superintendent of Central Tax, Office of the Superintendent of Central Tax (GST), Virajpet. The petitioner sought quashing of both the notice and the order, together with consequential relief including refund of any amounts paid.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether clubbing, consolidation or combining of multiple tax periods/financial years into a single composite show cause notice under Section 73 or Section 74 of the CGST/KGST Act is legally permissible.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The clubbing of six financial years — 2017-18 to 2022-23 — into a single show cause notice and consequent order was without jurisdiction and contrary to the scheme of the CGST/KGST Act.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Court did not record any submission from the respondent side supporting the composite notice; the controversy was treated as directly covered by a recent coordinate ruling of the same Court.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court held that the issue was squarely covered by its own decision in M/S Pramur Homes And Shelters Vs. The Union of India and Ors., WP No. 33081/2025, decided on 11.12.2025, which had framed and answered the identical point in favour of the assessee.
  • Following that ruling, the Court held that clubbing/consolidation/bunching/combining of multiple tax periods or financial years in a single, composite show cause notice issued under Section 73 or Section 74 of the CGST/KGST Act is illegal, invalid, impermissible and without jurisdiction or authority of law, and contrary to the provisions of the Act.
  • Applying this to the facts, the Court found the impugned show cause notice dated 26.07.2024, encompassing multiple financial years from 2017-18 to 2022-23, to be equally vitiated.
  • The show cause notice and the impugned order dated 23.01.2025, along with all further proceedings pursuant thereto, were quashed, while reserving liberty to the respondents to initiate fresh proceedings in accordance with law, which the petitioner would be entitled to contest afresh.

Important Clarification

  • A single, composite show cause notice under Section 73 or Section 74 of the CGST/KGST Act cannot validly bunch together multiple tax periods or financial years; each period requires its own notice, and a notice that clubs several years together is void for want of jurisdiction, not merely irregular.
  • Quashing on this ground does not bar the department from re-issuing separate, period-specific notices; it only invalidates the composite format actually used, and the assessee remains free to contest any fresh, properly-issued notice on its own merits.
  • Because this point of law had already been authoritatively framed and answered in Pramur Homes And Shelters, the Court disposed of the present matter by direct application of that precedent rather than re-examining the question from first principles — illustrating how quickly a newly settled principle on notice validity can be extended across a batch of similarly placed taxpayers.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73, CGST/KGST Act, 2017 – determination of tax for reasons other than fraud, requiring a period-specific notice.
  • Section 74, CGST/KGST Act, 2017 – determination of tax involving fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression, under which the impugned notice here was issued and equally subject to the single-period rule.

Decision – In Favour of

Allowed in favour of the Assessee — the composite, multi-year show cause notice and the consequent order were quashed as without jurisdiction, with liberty to the department to proceed afresh.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru
  • Case No.: Writ Petition No. 12369 of 2025 (T-RES)
  • Neutral Citation: NC: 2025:KHC:54573
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar
  • Date of Order: 17 December 2025

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