Introduction

This judgment of the Kerala High Court reiterates the legal principle that a consolidated Show Cause Notice (SCN) or adjudication order covering multiple assessment years is unsustainable under the GST law. Following the earlier Division Bench decisions in Joint Commissioner (Intelligence & Enforcement) v. M/s. Lakshmi Mobiles Accessories and Tharayil Medicals v. Deputy Commissioner, the Court held that each assessment year constitutes a separate unit of assessment and therefore requires an independent show cause notice and adjudication.

The Court quashed both the consolidated Show Cause Notice and the consequential adjudication order, while granting liberty to the Department to initiate fresh proceedings by issuing separate notices for each assessment year. To protect the Revenue’s interest, the Court directed that the period from the date of the impugned order till receipt of the certified copy of the judgment shall be excluded while computing limitation for fresh proceedings.