Background of the Case

In this case, the petitioners challenged consolidated Show Cause Notices (SCNs) issued under Sections 73 and 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, wherein the GST department clubbed multiple financial years into a single notice. The petitioners argued that the GST law treats each financial year as a separate unit, particularly because the limitation period prescribed under Sections 73 and 74 is linked to the annual return of a specific financial year. According to them, combining different financial years in one notice defeats the statutory framework and adversely affects the taxpayer’s ability to raise year-specific defenses.

The petitioners relied on various judicial precedents, including the decision of the Bombay High Court in Milroc Good Earth Developers, which had held that clubbing multiple financial years in a single notice is not permissible.